CHARLESTON,
WV – Gov. Jim Justice said today that pending a final report from the U.S. EPA
expected later this month or in early March, he is prepared to endorse a
recommendation from the EPA that the former Shafer Equipment site in the
Fayette County community of Minden be added to the National Priorities List of
Superfund sites.
“Since the
1980s there have been several efforts to address contamination and remediation
of the site in question,” said Gov. Justice. “Today, based on preliminary
results from testing the EPA has recently conducted, we believe the EPA will be
bringing to us their findings and a plan in the next few weeks. While the exact
areas of concern to the EPA are not known to us at this time, it is my
expectation that I will be able to endorse this plan and their recommendation
that it is a Superfund eligible site and that it be added to EPA’s National
Priorities List (NPL).”
“The EPA has
been in control of this site for more than 25 years and the ball is still in
their court,” Gov. Justice added. “But representatives of our Department of
Environmental Protection (DEP) have been actively involved with the EPA for the
last six months to get answers because the health and safety of West Virginians
is a priority for me,” Gov. Justice added. “So, I’m happy that early in my term
as Governor we’re going to see this decades-old problem resolved.”