Clerical Error Ends Comment Period for Data Center Issue in Mason County

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 20, 2026

Contacts: Morgan King, morgan@wvcag.org, WV CAG Climate and Energy Program Manager
Jillian Welsh, jillian@wvcag.org, WV CAG Communications Manager

Clerical Error Ends Comment Period for Data Center Issue in Mason County

Point Pleasant, W.Va. — On Tuesday, March 17, at Krodel Park Clubhouse in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, West Virginia Citizen Action Group (WV CAG) and partners hosted a community meeting on proposed local data centers. More than 60 people, including residents, elected officials, and stakeholders, attended and participated in the conversation. Yet, residents are discovering now that the comment period for the NPDES/State Storm Water Construction permit WV0115924 has actually already passed—the correct date, March 15, was published in the Rivers Cities Tribune and Register, the local paper, but an incorrect date, March 25, was shared via the WV Department of Environmental Protection’s permitting listserv, the avenue through which most organizations and community members follow the permitting process.

WV Citizen Action Group’s Executive Director Dani Parent stated, “Through good organizing and relationships, citizens engaged in the process as it was laid out in good faith. As an organization that facilitates these interactions with the process, WVCAG is deeply disappointed that a clerical error is silencing those closest to this issue.”

Mason County Resident Jesse Eastman stated, “After the meeting on the 17th, residents of the county formed the Protect Mason County WV Facebook group, which has grown to over 350 members in less than 48 hours. We conducted a poll of members to see who was aware of the Public Comment Period notice run in February. Not one single member of our group responded that they had any knowledge of this notice, nor that we were in a public comment period.”

Mason County Resident Elaine Matheny stated, “I feel that DEP should stand by the longest period to give the public every opportunity to make a comment and have their voices heard. That’s what they’re there for.”

While the publishing of the correct comment period end date in the local paper of record is technically within legal bounds, the fact that the permit has been issued while residents are still organizing and submitting their input speaks to a false sense of urgency and the potential silencing of community members to whom the DEP is responsible.

About WV Citizen Action Group: The West Virginia Citizen Action Group advocates for better public policy, rights of individuals, a clean environment, and a stronger democratic process. Learn more at www.wvcag.org. Questions can be directed to WV CAG’s Communications Coordinator, Jillian Welsh, at jillian@wvcag.org.