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SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2018
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Alleged violations lead to settlement with MPLX Jewett fractionator among plants named for alleged violations The settlement addresses alleged violations of federal and state clean air laws governing the control of emissions from equipment leaks, pressure relief devices, storage tanks, truck and railcar loading, combustion devices, and U.S. Department of Justice process heaters. settled with by MPLX energy plants in six states (Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Kentucky and Texas. Those organizations include the Federal EPA, the U.S. Department of
BY JD LONG
jim@harrisonnewsherald.com
HARRISON COUNTY – Earlier this month it was announced that no less than five organizations were being
Justice (USDJ), the State of Oklahoma, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and the State of West Virginia for nearly $7 million, according to the USDJ website. “The settlement addresses alleged violations of federal and state clean air laws governing the control of emissions from equipment leaks, pressure relief devices, storage tanks, truck and railcar loading, combustion devices, and process heaters,” according to the USDJ. One of those plants in Ohio include
the MarkWest (now owned by MPLX) facility in Jewett. Communications Manager for Marathon Petroleum, Jamal Kheiry, spoke briefly on the matter and emphasized the word “alleged.” “We came to an agreement with the EPA and the Department of Justice to resolve those allegations, and we also voluntarily brought in 18 of our other sites that didn’t have any alleged violations at them to implement the same programs there as well,” Kheiry explained. “As part of the $6.9 million settlement there is a cash penalty of $925,000 and there’s supplemental and
Tree farm readies for Christmas holiday BY ESTHER MCCOY NH Contributor
RICHMOND - Now that Thanksgiving is over the season of Christmas is coming on strong. Already there are fresh cut Christmas trees seen on the porches of early decorators. The days of hiking into the nearby woods to cut down the family tree are long gone but the past can be relived again of this magical experience at the DoubleM Tree Farm, minutes from Edison High School. The tree family, operated by Mr. and Mrs. Mark Bodash, opened to business the day after Thanksgiving and open Wednesday and Friday from 2-5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. until the season is over. There, families can choose a tree, have it cut down by expert tree cutters and have it bound up tightly so as not to break off any prized branches and shaken to remove small animals and all sorts of bugs who have established their winter home among the branches, not to mention many dry needles. There is a charming gift shop at the tree orchard and a 10-foot decorated tree that makes a perfect back drop for a family holiday photo. There are grave blankets and cemetery crosses as as well. “When a Christmas tree is cut, over half of its weight is water, With the proper care, the owner can maintain the quality of the displayed tree,” said the owners. It was told that it takes a seedling 7 to 10 years to grow into 6-foot tall object of amazement to a young child. It is not true that an evergreen does not lose its needles; it does but not to a baldness like a
environmental projects that we agreed to of $3.2 million and then we are also implementing enhanced monitoring and control technologies that will cost another $2.78 million.” Executive Director for the Center For Coalfield Justice Veronica Coptis was quoted in a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Nov. 2/Don Hopey) story doubting Kheiry’s statement. Coptis described the problem of enforcement as a “lack of capacity” and basically a shorthanded and underfunded problem.
See SETTLEMENT PG. 5
MWCD approves several contract bids By JD LONG
jim@harrisonnewsherald.com
NH Photo | ESTHER McCOY
Mr. and Mrs. Mark Bordash of the Double-M Tree Farm pose before a stand of pine trees that are being groomed for ornaments, lights and icicles for the Christmas season.
maple or other tree. When a tree is purchased, the customer will have a machine shake away all the dead needles so they will not be distributed throughout the house. Many evergreens that take on a glowing light during the holiday season are grown on a tree farm in the United States and purchased by 34 to 36 million families. Real trees are biodegradable and can be recycled or reused for mulch.
But an artificial tree will sit in a landfill literally for centuries. And on tree farms, for every real tree harvested, one new tree is planted. Popular myths are that real trees are bad for the environment and that artificial trees make smarter financial sense. Research shows that the natural tree is much friendlier to the environment when compared to an artificial tree which has three times the amount of impact on
climate change and resource depletion when compared to a real tree and real trees are a hassle but real Christmas trees provide real business for real farmers. The search for a real Christmas tree creates a special family or friend experience and no artificial tree can replace the pine scent of a real tree. The telephone number for the Double-M Tree Farm is (740) 7654424 and they can be found at www.doublemtreefarm.com.
Sheriff’s office releases third quarter financial numbers By JD LONG
jim@harrisonnewsherald.com
CADIZ – Last week, Harrison County Sheriff, Joe Myers presented his third quarter financial report to the Harrison County Commissioners. The total spent was $85,516.46 for 145 people in “out of county in-jail keep.” Registered male inmates came to 107 versus just 21 female inmates. For in-county expenses, 34 inmates counted towards $55059.88 in total cost. Meals served totaled 3,397 at $16,951.03, which came to $4.99 per meal. Myers added that under “contract meals” the figure would have been
much cheaper as he listed it as $1.50 per meal, or an estimated total of $5,095.50. Billed for actual medical treatments came to $9,215.68 but actual payments through Medicaid came to $1,622.38, which came to a savings of $7,893.30, according to Myers. Myers said 144 inmates were transported, “which equates to about to put a deputy being assigned to that, was $19,388.16.” He said mileage came to 12,034 at a cost of $6,618.70. “So far this year we’ve done $264,472.09 in jail keep,” Myers told the board. “The breakdown of that was...$35,626.90 (Carroll County), Jefferson County was our biggest so far was $204, 441.” He said Stark County, as
of now came to $24,203.28. Myers said that out of the $264,000-plus came approximately $29,000 of “items that we purchased over there for those guys to stay on [and] sleep on, cots mattresses, clothing their orange jumpsuits.” “So, it’s been a high cost,” Myers added. He said they have one female in Stark County that requires a guard on her around the clock, at a cost of $800 per day. Also the Cadiz Community Improvement Corporation (CCIC) released their 2019 meeting dates, which are as follows (all meeting times are at 6 p.m.): Jan. 17, Feb. 21, March 21, April 18, May 16, June 20, July 25, Aug. 15, Sept. 19, Oct. 17, Nov. 21 and Dec. 19.
Area
Events
Sports
Cadiz American Legion supports vets
Adena Lions prepare for holidays with cantata
Teams prepare for winter sports season
The Cadiz American Legino is hosting several events for the holidays geared toward helping the veterans of the community. Page 2
The Adena Lions Club is getting ready for the Christmas season with a cantata this weekend. Page 8
With the snow comes winter sports, and the area basketball, bowling and wrestling teams are working hard to prepare for the upcoming season. Page 6
NEW PHILADELPHIA – Last week’s Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District’s (MWCD) monthly meeting held at their Annex in New Philadelphia saw several approvals for contracts that fell under their multi-million dollar Master Plan. Chief Engineer Boris Slogar did all the explaining for these projects and began with the reminder of the board’s approval for the engineer’s department to award a bid for shoreline stabilization back in September. The estimate he said was just over $1.5 million “at the peninsula area.” Slogar said they received two awardable bids but the winning bid was given to Tucson Inc., which came in at just over $1.3 million. “We did execute that contract with Tucson [and] we expect the project to be completed by around March, and so we’re ready to go,” Slogar explained. He described Tucson as a “fine contractor” as they’ve done plenty of work for the District over the years. Regarding the Pleasant Hill Area 22 Campground project, a ratification request for a change order was given, as well as a final accounting for the project was also covered. Slogar said they were pretty much wrapped up and left only with some minor details. The estimate for the Master Plan project was $2.4 million and was awarded for “a little more than $2.8 million.” He said with the change order the final tally for the project comes to just over $3 million. All change orders were ratified by the board. Moving on to the Pleasant Hill Sanitary Collection System Improvements project, again Slogar explained the completion of the project at an estimate of $1.8 million but the final award number came in at $1.4 million. He said the final contract amount came to $1.3 million with change orders, which were also approved. Two more bid award-results were also addressed with one being for the Seneca Marina Point Campground Redevelopment Phase I. This approval for bid came back in August, according to Slogar with an estimate of $6 million. Two bids came in with Tucson again awarded the winning bid at $6.1 million, which included the installation of a picnic shelter. “It is within 10 percent of our estimate and so therefore awardable,” Slogar said announcing the expected completion date of October, 2019. The final project requested for a bid award was the Tappan Park Campground Renovation Phase 2 project. Slogar said this includes 43 full hookup sites, 18 water and electric-only sites, a new restroom and shower area and roadway and drainage work as well. “Our estimate is $5,290,500 [and] the project has been approved by Master Plan Oversight Committee…” Slogar stated. This was also authorized.
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