Official: W.Va. school replacement not a given
Associated Press
11/10/09 11:50 AM EST
CHARLESTON, W.VA. — A request for $7.5 million in state funds to replace a Raleigh County elementary school near a Massey Energy coal preparation plant will have to be ranked against the needs in other areas of the state and is not a sure thing, says the head of the state School Building Authority.
The Raleigh County Board of Education voted earlier this month to seek SBA funding to replace Marsh Fork Elementary School. The school has been at the center of a multiyear debate on whether the prep plant and a nearby coal slurry impoundment are a health and safety hazard to the students.
"As it sets today, there are no guarantees this project will be funded unless we can find some major health and safety issues," SBA Executive Director Mark Anthony Manchin said.
Also, the SBA expects to have just $72 million for projects when it makes awards next spring. It already has requests totaling $247 million, he said.
Board members decided to seek the money after Massey Energy Chief Executive Don Blankenship said the Richmond, Va.-based company might be willing to help cover part of the relocation costs. Board President Rick Snuffer said he's hoping Massey will provide $1.5 million to purchase and prepare a site for the new school.
The existing school is downhill from a slurry impoundment at a nearby Massey mine and about 300 feet from a coal silo. Massey's plans to build a second silo nearby have sparked protests from environmentalists and some residents over what they say is a flood threat and claims that children are exposed to coal dust, among other things.
In June, the state Supreme Court ruled Massey could build the second silo. The company has maintained that building the second silo would reduce coal dust pollution near the school.
Manchin said the SBA will review environmental concerns at Marsh Fork, but the agency's reviews focus on structural, not environmental deficiencies.
Raleigh County's request for 100 percent of the replacement cost also could affect the project. Manchin said the SBA prefers to finance projects where counties plan to use levy funds to underwrite at least 50 percent of the cost.
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Information from: The Register-Herald, http://www.register-herald.com
