Jefferson County Foundation, Inc.
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!
October!9,!2019!
!
!
The!Honorable!Governor!Jim!Justice!
Office!of!the!Governor!
WV!State!Capitol!!
1900!Kanawha!Blvd.!E.!
Charleston,!WV!25305!
!
Dear!Governor!Justice,!
!
Just!a!few!days!ago,!and!only!after!having!to!file!a!Freedom!of!Information!Act!(FOIA)!request,!we!
learned!about!a!$150%million%commitment%by!the!West!Virginia!Economic!Development!Authority!
(WVEDA)!to!spend!taxpayer!money!to!support!Rockwool’s!unwelcome!and!unwanted!industrialization!of!
Jefferson!County.!!!
!
On!behalf!of!the!entire!engaged!community!across!the!Eastern!Panhandle,!Northern!Virginia,!and!
Western!Maryland,!we!write!to!register!our!outrage!at!the!substance!of!the!WVEDA’s!action!and!the!
calculated!way!it!was!taken,!more%than%four%months%ago,!to!avoid!public!notice.!!!
!
We!ask!you!to!denounce!the!WVEDA’s!action!and!commit!to!transparency!and!informed!consultation!
with!the!public!going!forward.!!!
!
WVEDA’s(May(2(Action((
!
In!its!May!2!meeting!in!Charleston,!the!WVEDA!approved!the!issuance!of!up!to!$150!million!in!bonds!to!
Rockwool!for!its!insulation!factory!under!construction!in!Jefferson!County.!The!WVEDA!also!committed!
to!take!ownership!of!Rockwool’s!land!and!equipment!alleviating!Rockwool’s!state!and!local!tax!burden!
for!a!period!of!10!years.!At!the!end!of!this!time,!Rockwool!will!reclaim!the!property!and!equipment!for!
the!price!of!$1.!!
!
Astonishingly,!the!only!public!notice!of!this!meeting!and!the!WVEDA’s!intention!to!commit!state!
resources!to!Rockwool!can!be!found!in!a!two[sentence!meeting!notice!on!the!Secretary!of!State’s!
website.!Further!demonstrating!the!calculated!way!in!which!information!about!this!government!action!
was!cloaked!in!secrecy,!even!after!the!WVEDA’s!decision!to!authorize!this!loan!and!tax!relief!package!for!
Rockwool—one!of!its!largest!ever—there!still!was!no!announcement!made!about!it,!no!information!
shared!at!all.!!!
!
Why(We(Object(
!
This!letter!serves!to!register!the!outrage!of!residents!across!three!states!that!oppose!the!Rockwool’s!
factory!–!a!factory!that!will!be!spewing!392.59!tons1!annually!of!toxic!emissions!across!the!street!from!
an!elementary!school,!and!putting!our!land,!water,!economy!and!way!of!life!at!serious!risk.!!

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1

!WVDEP!Air!Quality!Permit!Notice!!https://dep.wv.gov/daq/Documents/March%202018%20Drafts%20and%20IP!

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PO Box 460, Ranson, WV 25438
Jefferson County Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)3 Non-Profit organization.

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 !
Usually,!packages!like!this!are!used!to!entice!companies!to!an!area!with!demonstrable!need!of!economic!
development.!However,!Rockwool!was,!at!the!time!of!the!May!2,!2019!meeting,!clearly!already!
committed!to!building!in!Jefferson!County!and!did!not!require!new!state!commitments!of!$150!million!
in!bonds!to!entice!it.!And!if!it!needed!$150!million!in!bonds!to!convince!it!to!stay!in!Jefferson!County,!
there!must!be!public!accountability!for!each!and!every!person!who!facilitated!this!outrage.!!
!
Rockwool!serves!no!public!purpose!in!its!proposed!location!in!Jefferson!County.!This!county!has!the!
lowest!unemployment!rate!and!highest!average!income!in!the!state,!and!ranks!better!than!the!national!
average!in!this!respect.!Jefferson!County’s!poverty!rate!is!nearly!half!that!of!the!state!as!a!whole.!The!
median!household!income!of!Jefferson!County!is!$72,526!per!year,!while!the!same!for!the!state!is!
$43,469!per!year,!and!in!Jefferson!County!this!measure!is!growing!at!3.98%!compared!to!just!0.194%!for!
the!state!as!a!whole2.!!
!
In!light!of!this,!why!did!the!WVEDA!authorize!spending!significant!state!resources!to!pay!for!the!creation!
of!a!small!number!of!low!quality!jobs!in!Jefferson!County,!and!in!an!area!that!is!completely!unsuited!for!
heavy!industry?!Why!is!the!money!not!being!spent!in!counties!in!more!economic!need!or!which!are!
better!suited!to!Rockwool’s!industrial!operations?!Or!to!attract!jobs!and!companies!that!fit!better!with!
Jefferson!County’s!leading!industries?!!!
!
In!the!agreement,!Rockwool!purports!to!create!the!equivalent!of!120!full[time!jobs.!Rockwool!already!
received!a!$2.2!million!“free!money”!loan!to!cover!the!costs!of!providing!those!jobs!and!the!training!
needed!for!those!employees.3!With!this!WVEDA!agreement,!and!without!any!documented!analysis!of!
the!benefits!and!costs!particularly!the!costs!to!Jefferson!County’s!environment!and!existing!industries,4!
the!state!of!West!Virginia!has!committed!the!approximate!equivalent!of!$1.25!million!in!loans!to!
Rockwool!for!each!job!it!says!it!will!create!or!$125,000!per!worker,!per!year,!for!ten!years,!and!ten!years!
of!at!least!reduced!state!and!local!tax!obligation.!Again,!all!of!this!is!for!120!jobs!to!melt!rock!with!heat!
and!chemicals!in!the!most!prosperous!county!in!the!state—dangerously!close!to!schools,!homes,!
agriculture,!and!horse!farms.!!
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It!is!clear!that!the!WVEDA!has!now,!surreptitiously,!tried!to!finish!the!job!that!the!Jefferson!County!
Development!Authority!was!not!in!a!position!to!do!in!light!of!extensive!citizen!opposition!to!Rockwool.!
For!the!last!14!months,!the!citizens!of!Jefferson!County!and!the!surrounding!area!have!been!expressing!
their!outrage!that!Rockwool!was!planning!to!and!is!now!actually!building!its!plant!in!the!heart!of!our!
historic,!bucolic!county.!It!would!be!impossible!for!any!state[level!officials,!even!though!they!reside!in!
Charleston!over!300!miles!away,!to!say!they!were!unaware!of!the!opposition.!Todd!Hooker,!deputy!
executive!director!of!the!West!Virginia!Development!Office,!who!has!been!at!the!heart!of!bringing!
Rockwool!here!for!years,!was!present!for!the!May!2!meeting.!It!strains!credibility!to!think!that!he!was!
not!involved!in!facilitating!and!informing!this!“sweetheart!deal”!for!Rockwool,!following!through!on!
promises!that!were!made!to!Rockwool!and!which!Jefferson!County!citizens!have!refused!to!deliver!on.!!
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!https://datausa.io/profile/geo/jefferson[county[wv/?compare=west[virginia!
3

!!September!27,2017!Memorandum!of!understanding!between!the!WV!department!of!comers!and!Roxul!
providing!2.2!million!dollars!performance!based!forgivable!loan.!!
4
!WVEDA!explicitly!stated!that!it!did!not!have!any!documentation!of!such!diligence!or!analysis.!!See!WVEDA’s!
October!7,!2019!response!to!Jefferson!County!Foundation!FOIA!Request!No.!2019[0011.!!

2!!

 For!over!a!year,!citizens!have!packed!the!public!comment!sessions!during!every!variety!of!public!entity!
meetings!expressing!their!deep!concerns!over!the!Rockwool!project.!This!included!trips!to!Charleston!to!
speak!in!public!comment!sessions,!many!meetings!with!elected!representatives!and!agency!officials,!and!
other!protests.!Notably,!in!a!meeting!about!Rockwool!with!Jefferson!County!residents,!local!delegates!
John!Doyle!and!Sammi!Brown,!Secretary!of!Commerce!Gaunch,!Deputy!Executive!Director!of!WV!
Development!Office!Todd!Hooker,!and!Executive!Director!of!WV!Development!Office!and!Chair!of!the!
WVEDA!Mike!Graney!on!July!24,!the!May!2!WVEDA!action!was!not!disclosed.!!In!a!phone!call!following!
the!meeting!Todd!Hooker!was!asked!directly!about!alternative!funding!for!Rockwool!and!still!failed!to!
mention!the!May!2!WVEDA!action.!The!secrecy!confirms!that!officials!in!Charleston!knew!that!any!public!
awareness!would!be!met!with!the!same!public!opposition!that!Rockwool!faces!in!Jefferson!County.!And!
when!no!citizens!appeared!before!the!WVEDA!on!the!day!of!this!meeting,!it!should!have!been!a!clear!
indication!that!the!meeting!was!not!adequately!noticed.!!
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For!its!part,!Rockwool,!which!purports!to!be!a!leading!corporate!citizen,!took!advantage!of!the!lack!of!
transparency!that!characterized!the!WVEDA!process!in!this!deal.!Rockwool’s!lawyers!were!present!at!
the!May!2!meeting!and!were!involved!in!negotiating!the!WVEDA!package.!Yet!Rockwool!has!still!not!
revealed!the!existence!of!this!considerable!bond!issuance!in!any!corporate!publication!we!can!find.!It!
has!not!mentioned!it!in!any!court!filings.!It!has!not!told!the!public!in!Jefferson!County!anything!about!it.!
This!is!not!the!behavior!of!a!company!that!can!be!trusted!to!be!a!good!neighbor.!!!
!
If!the!WVEDA!had!held!an!open!public!process,!which!truly!reflected!the!interests!of!Jefferson!County!
and!nearby!regions,!it!would!have!concluded!that!Rockwool!is!not!in!the!public!interest!of!this!area.!On!
any!objective!cost[benefit!analysis,!Rockwool’s!promised!120!jobs!are!not!worth!the!“investment”!by!
the!state,!and!the!people!of!Jefferson!County!have!made!it!clear!that!we!do!not!need!or!want!the!
industrialization!and!resulting!economic!and!environmental!degradation!that!accompanies!heavy!
industry.!The!air!emissions!and!groundwater!contamination!it!will!bring!to!our!equine!and!agricultural!
industries!could!devastate!our!County’s!existing!economy.!The!plant!will!significantly!challenge!the!
infrastructure,!including!by!adding!to!an!aging!sewer!system!that!in!2018!spilled!raw!sewage!at!a!rate!of!
one!in!nine!days5.!The!sight!of!21[story!smoke!stacks!and!knowledge!of!the!air!emissions!and!the!
increased!sewage!in!the!waterways!will!reduce!tourism.!The!people!who!choose!to!live!in!Jefferson!
County!and!commute!to!work!closer!to!Washington,!D.C.!may!simply!decide!to!leave.!These!impacts!will!
reduce!the!tax!base!and!likely!reduce!the!average!household!income!in!the!county.!Thus,!not!only!has!
the!state!unnecessarily!chosen!to!commit!a!disproportionate!amount!of!resource!to!attract!120!jobs!to!a!
region!of!the!state!with!the!lowest!unemployment!rate!and!highest!average!income,!but!this!investment!
made!in!the!name!of!economic!stimulus!will!irreparably!harm!the!economy!of!this!county.!!
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What(We(Ask(
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First,!we!demand!accountability.!We!want!to!know!how!this!deal!was!cut;!which!of!our!local!leaders!
were!aware!of!it;!and!if!they!were!aware,!why!it!was!not!disclosed!to!the!public.!!!
!
Second,!we!demand!that!you!and!all!responsible!government!officials!denounce!the!WVEDA’s!action!
and!commit!to!transparency!and!informed!consultation!with!the!affected!public!on!anything!involving!

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!Written!spill/bypass!reports!submitted!to!WVDEP!by!CTUB,!downloaded!from!and!publicly!available!at!WVDEP's!
document!server:!https://documents.dep.wv.gov/AppXtender!!
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3!!

 Rockwool!and!the!commitment!of!public!funds!going!forward.!This!is!the!law!of!this!State!–!we!are!
following!the!laws!and!we!expect!our!government!to!do!the!same.!!
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Third,!we!demand!a!public!hearing,!in!Jefferson!County,!with!the!decision!makers!in!all!matters!related!
to!Rockwool,!including!the!DEP,!WV!Department!of!Commerce,!Office!of!the!WV!Secretary!of!State!and!
your!Office,!to!hear!our!concerns.!!A!year!ago,!all!of!these!agencies!flocked!to!the!Bavarian!Inn!to!hear!
Rockwool’s!concerns!about!the!public!outcry,!and!no!one!from!the!public!was!invited!or!allowed.!This!
time,!we!want!our!elected!officials!and!state!and!local!agencies!to!come!to!us!and!hear!our!concerns!
about!this!facility.!!We!will!be!contacting!all!of!the!offices!to!arrange!a!date,!and!we!will!send!invitations!
to!all!relevant!agencies.!We!look!forward!to!the!attendance!of!the!elected!and!appointed!leadership!in!
this!State!to!listen!to!us!and!ask!that!you!encourage!the!officials!of!the!Executive!branch!to!attend.!!
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In!the!meantime,!we!will!be!seeking!any!legal!avenues!to!nullify!the!bond!issuance!and!to!educate!
potential!investors!that!such!bonds!are!inappropriate!vehicles!for!socially!and!environmentally!
responsible!investors.!!
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Thank!you!in!advance!for!working!with!us!to!promote!a!modern,!forward[looking!vision!for!Jefferson!
County!that!includes!a!commitment!to!economic!prosperity,!the!protection!of!health!and!the!
environment,!and!transparent!good!government.!!!
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Best!regards,!
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!
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Christine!L!Wimer!!
Shaun!Amos!!
President,!Jefferson!County!Foundation!!
President,!Jefferson!County!Vision!!
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Enclosure:!!WVEDA!May!2!meeting!materials!and!resolution!relating!to!Rockwool!
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