Warm Springs Watershed Association

About the 522 Bypass review request:

Post Office Box 757

Berkeley Springs, WV 25411

February 25, 2021

Dear Senator Manchin:

The Warm Springs Watershed Association requests your help in urging the Department of Environmental Protection to hold a public hearing in Berkeley Springs so residents can address issues of concern regarding plans for the 522 bypass.

The Association is not opposed to the construction of the 522 bypass; however, the four-lane highway will pass through a long, narrow watershed with an already large amount of impervious surface area that is increasingly prone to flash flooding. The proposed project adds 36 more acres of impervious road and hard shoulder, which will increase the volume and velocity of runoff.

The Association is concerned about apparent inaccuracies included in the permit. Specifically, it states that sediment basins controlling over 500 acres will be installed in the watershed to capture runoff; however, incorrect land cover and soil characteristics are used to calculate sediment basin capacity. About 90% of the area is comprised of very shallow, fragile soils. Not only will increased erosion be a factor, it will be difficult to re-establish vegetation in these soils. As a result, the proposed flood control basins will be inadequate for handling the amount of runoff they are designed to capture. Further, there is no discussion of long-term maintenance of these basins.

Mitigation of stream and wetland impacts is mandated in the permit; however, there is no information what these mitigations might be or where they might be located.

We have already brought our concerns to the following department:

Division of Water and Management, DEP

Sharon Mullins, Permitting Section

Application No. WVR110602

Since there was no response, we have also reached out to the Eastern Panhandle Conservation District and the Morgan County Commission to address these concerns.

Your attention to this matter, and any help you can give is greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Kate Lehman, President

Cacapon Institute is seeking a design contractor to draw plans for the Natural Stream Restoration at Widmyer Elementary and Berkeley Springs High School, Berkeley Springs, WV.

The RFP is available at www.cacaponinstitute.org.

Time is of the essence. Proposals are due February 1st and the completed design must be finished by June 1, 2021.

We anticipate the designs for two segments of steam (~2,000 feet total) to cost $40,000 (+/-) but all proposals will be accepted and considered. Inquiries are welcome.

For more information, contact

Frank F. Rodgers

Executive Director

Cacapon Institute

#10 Rockford Rd

Great Cacapon, WV 25422

304-258-8013 (o) 304-240-2721 (c) 304-258-7657 (h)

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In partnership with the City of Martinsburg Stormwater Team, WV Rivers Coalition has created a new “Find Your Watershed” tool for the three counties of the Eastern Panhandle.

Looking for opportunities to protect your land and water? Find your watershed and get connected with your local watershed group at

www.tinyurl.com/findwatershed

Thanks for being involved...

Norman Dean is the 2020 Watershed Hero!

Watershed Network news: See this link for more information.   https://wvrivers.org/2020/11/symposium/

Last year, WV Rivers Coalition became the fiscal sponsor of the West Virginia Watershed Network (WVWN), a statewide organization of of nonprofits, state, and federal agencies who support the work of community-based watershed groups.

The Symposium, staying true to its Watershed Celebration Day roots, kicked off by honoring five outstanding groups and one individual for their contributions towards watershed restoration.

And the prestigious Watershed Hero Award, presented to an individual for their volunteer efforts that go above and beyond their call of duty, was bestowed upon Norman Dean for his nearly 20 years of service to both Sleepy Creek Watershed Association and Warm Springs Watershed Association based in the Eastern Panhandle. Norman has been the steadfast lead for the Sleepy Creek Watershed Association and Warm Springs Watershed Association’s WV Save Our Streams monitoring programs. He has trained individual volunteers and led in-stream sampling and the collection of benthic macroinvertebrates, spending countless hours analyzing, categorizing, and reporting sample results to watershed association members and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.

The Warm Springs Watershed Association is sponsoring a Rain Garden Workshop, Tuesday November 10, from 10am to 1pmon Congress Street in downtown Berkeley Springs.

Learn about the Rain Gardens on Congress Street, a Town of Bath public works project, funded in part by a WV Chesapeake Bay Implementation grant.

Master Gardener volunteer credit is approved for attendance. Come prepared to help plant the beds for more credit hours.

For more information please email [email protected]