Environmental Resource Specialist Fred Teel inspected the scene during the afternoon of Friday, January 12th, 2007. He ordered the shutdown of the burning through the weekend and issued the Notice of Violation this week.
During a visit Friday morning Teel says he warned workers about reports of burning at night and possible ash at the neighbor's homes. However, due to rain in the morning, Teel says he did not have enough evidence to prove that ash was the substance covering neighbor's cars.
That was not the case Friday afternoon when Teel was called to the site for the third time. (He was unable to come Thursday afternoon when he was first called.)
Ash covered the homes of John Clay and his neighbor, who declined to
be named in this article. Ash also covered Clay's truck and his
neighbor's son-in-law. More soot and ash covered the back landing of
Clay's home.
The soot and ash are only part of the problem. Teel had to cover his ear to make a phone call because of the excessive noise coming from the burner which was positioned just a few feet inside Wal-Mart's 25-acre property.
"They need to do something," says Clay. "This has gotten out of hand."
"It smells like they are burning tires," says Clay's neighbor who was evacuated by her son-in-law due to smoke levels inside their home."
Teel did not find any evidence of burning tires, but ordered a shutdown of the burning until Monday and told workers to move the burn site farther into the property and away from homes. He also provided neighbors with his card and says he can returned if they feel their is a problem.
This is not the first time the WVDEP has taken action at the construction site. Last October, five "Notices of Violation" were issued to Wal-Mart and its then-contractor Hudson Construction, a Tennessee company. Those violations included sentiment in a stream and permit issues. Wal-Mart quickly fired Hudson and replaced the contractor after the notices were issued.
Cleveland Construction is now in charge of the Wal-Mart site. Kanawha Stone is a subcontractor to Cleveland Construction and has been burning trees and blasting at the site.
PutnamLIVE.com has been ordered by the court not to contact the company after Superintendent David Koon filed a harassment complaint January 11th when we attempted to get his side of the story about blasting which has disturbed neighbors.
Kanawha Stone refers press calls about its work on the Wal-Mart site to company spokesman James Davis who has not returned our call seeking comment on the Notice of Violation. A call to Patrick Hamilton with Wal-Mart's construction department also has not been returned.
City of Hurricane officials have been derelict in their duties to enforce the town's noise ordinance and have refused to respond to Clay's complaints, he says. Other neighbors have complained about smoke and noise from the site. They are now turning to state officials because of their dissatisfaction with Hurricane City officials who have made it clear they won't help the longtime residents
Ben Newhouse, the City Manager of Hurricane, has responded with "Why don't you move?" but has declined to purchase the neighbor's homes.
When Clay bought his home 35 years ago it was across the road from the Landers' Hotel, a property Clay says was "beautiful and well-maintained." Now he lives across from a Wal-Mart construction site and is hoping to sell his home before the store is finished.
Clay is also furious at City of Hurricane officials for allowing the 184,000 square-foot SuperCenter to be built in his neighborhood. "We will remember this at election time. We won't forget," promises Clay.
Hurricane Mayor Raymond Peak won't be taking that chance. He has already announced he will not run for another term. Peak has held that office since the 1960's.
It is not known whether members of the Hurricane City Council will duck and run with Peak or have the courage to face the town's voters later this year.
Hurricane City Council member Scott Edwards, who says he plans to run for mayor, declined to comment on the shut down of the burning Friday. Edwards also sits on the Board of Directors of the Putnam County Development Authority which sold the land to Wal-Mart's developer last year. He says despite the noise problems, the project is "good for everybody" and will bring needed jobs and tax revenue to Hurricane.
