Letter to the Editor, Morgantown Dominion Post, Submitted January 16, 2020
Mon County is Losing Millions in Tax Revenue, Exposed to Power Plant Emissions
An in-depth look at the PILOT agreement for the Longview Power plant that is now operating has been performed by Ted Boettner, Director of the WV Center on Budget & Policy. This was published to their web-site on October 15, 2019. PILOT is the “payment in lieu of taxes” agreement approved by the Monongalia County Commission back in 2003. According to the analysis, the tax abatement (taxes not collected) is estimated at $457 million over 30 years.
The proposed new Longview II power plant tax abatement that might be approved by the Monongalia County Commission, would forgive $217 million over 30 years. Thus, the total tax abatement for Longview according to Boettner is $674 million.
Everyone should read and study the document on the web-site of the West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy as it covers PILOT agreements in general. It is about 10 pages long. And, this document contains eight (8) guidelines or “best practices” that can help increase transparency, reduce waste, and ensure a more democratic process in the abatement process.
The Monongalia County Sheriff, the School Board and the County Commission should study and use the facts and information in the above referenced document if approving another PILOT agreement, in the best interest of the public health and welfare.
This is the reference: “PILOT Agreements Cost State Millions in Tax Revenue: An In-Depth Look at Longview Power Plant,” Ted Boettner, October 15, 2019. The source is:
The Mon Valley Clean Air Coalition is concerned about putting another large power plant where so many will be affected, the Ft. Martin community, Maidsville, Star City, Stewartstown, Cheat Lake area, Pt. Marion, etc. Already we have over 300 diesel trucks per day on the Ft. Martin hill. The location of University High School and all the health care facilities of Mon General Hospital and the WVU Hospital system are downwind and subject to concerns especially during adverse weather conditions as thermal inversions in the atmosphere.
My information is that the proposed new Longview II power plant will have emissions of over 10 tons per year of “hazardous air pollutants” (HAPs), 200 tons per year of fine particulate matter (PM), 500 tons per year of “volatile organic compounds” (VOCs), and 4 million tons per year of greenhouse gases, based upon data from the WV Department of Environmental Protection. All this would add to the even greater emissions from the existing Longview I and Ft. Martin coal fired power plants. We don’t want over 35 thousand residents and 35 thousand students to be exposed to these conditions.