Move Along-Nothing To See Here

Why is it that this story has received so little coverage by High Country mainstream media outlets? Does it seem important to you?

We recently came across a public notice submitted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which was carried in the Jefferson Post. Seems that it had to do with the imminent failure of some dam somewhere--and that there was some sort of substantial threat to human health, or something like that. Right here in Ashe County. Huh.

EPA Announces the Availability of the Administrative Record for the Ore Knob Mine Removal Site, Jefferson, Ashe County, North Carolina.
...

...is available for public review...
...
The Administrative Record file includes documents that form the basis for selection of the removal action. A removal action is short-term cleanup intended to stabilize a site that poses an imminent and substantial threat to human health or the environment.
...
All interested parties are encouraged to review the documents.
...

And where can an interested citizen find such documents? Right at the Ashe County Library, of course--which is NOT located at the address indicated in EPA's public notice. This is the correct address of the Ashe County Library:

Ashe County Library

Temporary Location:
Jefferson Station
West Jefferson, NC 28694

Phone: 336.846.2041
Fax: 336.846.7503

Sun	Closed
Mon	8:30AM-6:00PM
Tue	8:30AM-6:00PM
Wed	8:30AM-6:00PM
Thu	8:30AM-6:00PM
Fri	8:30AM-5:00PM
Sat	8:30AM-4:00PM

Go to the library and ask for Mr. Jim McQueen for the EPA documents.

In the meantime, there is a dam located at old mine in Ashe County that is failing. The dam is about 70 feet high and 700 feet wide, and there are plenty of houses all around the dam. These houses have water wells. The water that has been flowing from the failing dam has turned Little Peek Creek and Peek Creek into dead streams at the site. Do you suppose there has been any impact on household wells in the area? How about the health of local residents? Ever heard of the term cancer cluster?

So how about it High County Media? Where are you High County Radio (Curtis, Foothills, whatever)? WASU-FM? The Appalachian? High Country Press? Perhaps these media organizations are having trouble finding the library or the mine site. We want to help:

Library location.

Mine site.

More here.