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A
New
Look
for
Grundy
With
the
arrival
of
fall,
the
Town
of
Grundy
takes
on
a
new
look.
All
of
the
buildings
have
now
been
razed
and
work
on
the
new
alignment
for
Rt.
460
is
underway.
According
to
the
developer,
construction
on
the
redevelopment
site
is
expected
to
begin
later
this
fall.
(Staff
photo/Cathy
St.
Clair.) |
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PSA
Adopts
New
Project
Rank
System
Points
Used
to
Prioritize
Future
Service
Needs |
|
by
Cathy
St.
Clair
News
Editor
A
system
which
assigns
points
to
areas
of
the
county
still
without
water
service
in
order
to
rank
the
order
in
which
they
should
be
addressed
was
adopted
earlier
this
month
by
the
Buchanan
County
Public
Service
Authority.
According
to
PSA
Director
Cantrell,
the
new
system
gives
the
PSA
a
concrete
manner
to
use
in
evaluating
projects
and
he
added
the
ranking
system
was
developed
in
concert
with
a
master
water
plan
identifying
areas
in
the
county
which
still
need
water
service.
Cantrell
noted
the
plan
was
developed
by
asking
each
PSA
board
member
to
identify
areas
in
the
districts
which
they
represent
which
are
still
without
county
water
supplies.
"They
came
back
to
the
board
with
a
listing
and
we
put
them
on
a
countywide
map
and
identified
them,"
Cantrell
said.
A
set
of
criteria,
he
added,
was
developed
to
help
evaluate
projects
ranking
from
the
number
of
potential
customers
to
be
added
to
the
PSA
system,
the
cost
per
connection
and
the
potential
growth
of
the
area.
Also
considered
are
elimination
of
health
hazards,
construction
feasibility
and
regionalization
opportunities.
Points
are
assigned
to
each
category
and
when
combined
give
the
PSA
a
better
idea
of
the
needs
and
costs
related
to
a
particular
project.
A
maximum
of
30
points
are
available
to
be
earned
by
projects
which
satisfactorily
meet
and/or
address
the
intent
to
the
ranking
criteria.
"The
new
ranking
system
does
not
mean
that
if
money
becomes
available
for
a
particular
project
that
it
won't
be
done
ahead
of
others
which
appear
on
the
list
before
it,"
Cantrell
said.
In
other
words,
he
said,
if
grant
money
becomes
available
for
a
specific
project
ranked
farther
down
on
the
list,
it
may
move
to
the
top
of
the
list
because
of
funding
availability.
All
totaled,
he
said,
there
are
probably
seven
to
eight
projects
identified
per
district
and
all
are
subject
to
health
department
approval
before
they
can
be
undertaken.
"It's
a
work
in
progress,"
Cantrell
said,
adding
that
perhaps
all
of
the
projects
needed
are
not
in
the
plan
yet,
but
he
said,
the
plan,
developed
in
conjunction
with
Thompson
&
Litton
Inc.,
can
be
added
to
as
time
goes
on.
"Most
areas
don't
have
a
great
deal
of
work
left,
but
the
areas
left
are
those
which
are
more
expensive
to
develop
and
which
are
more
difficult
to
secure
funding
for,"
Cantrell
said.
"This
sort
of
levels
the
playing
field
and
allows
everybody
to
see
where
they
are
and
why
they
are
there."
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|
Board
Authorizes
Action
to
Stop
Water
Discharge
Attorneys
Told:
'Whatever
Actions
Necessary'
|
by
Cathy
St.
Clair
News
Editor
A
resolution
authorizing
the
county
attorneys
to
take
whatever
actions
they
deem
necessary
to
stop
the
proposed
discharge
of
“toxic
waters”
into
the
Levisa
River
by
Consolidation
Coal
Company
was
agreed
to
last
Thursday
during
a
continued
meeting
of
the
Buchanan
County
Board
of
Supervisors.
The
resolution
notes
that
“in
spite
of
the
opposition
of
Buchanan
County
and
the
Town
of
Grundy,
the
Division
of
Mined
Land
Reclamation
of
the
Department
of
Mines,
Minerals
and
Energy
of
the
Commonwealth
of
Virginia,
has
approved
Consolidation
Coal
Company’s
application
.
.
.
for
a
permit
to
release
thousands
of
gallons
of
toxic
water
per
minute
into
the
Levisa
River
over
a
period
of
17
years
of
more.”
It
notes
the
discharge
is
proposed
to
be
located
in
the
midst
of
the
Grundy
Redevelopment
project,
which
it
refers
to
as
“one
of
the
largest
public
works
projects
in
the
history
of
southwest
Virginia
and
a
critical
site
for
the
future
development
of
the
Town
of
Grundy.”
One
of
the
key
concerns
addressed
in
the
resolution
is
the
lack
of
independent
testing
of
the
waters
proposed
to
be
discharged
into
the
river
and
the
state
agency’s
reliance
on
data
furnished
by
the
coal
company
in
support
of
its
application
for
the
permit
to
discharge
the
waters
into
the
river,
as
opposed
to
any
independent
testing
conducted
by
it
or
an
independent
laboratory.
The
river,
the
resolution
notes,
has
been
“the
victim
of
various
discharges
and
other
pollutants
which
have
caused
damage
to
the
river
and
aquatic
life
in
and
around
the
river.”
However,
due
to
efforts
of
federal,
state
and
county
governments,
as
well
as
private
citizens,
it
is
noted
the
river
is
recovering
and
is
known
as
the
home
of
a
large
fish
population,
particularly
catfish
and
small
mouth
bass,
as
well
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