Citizen groups appeal Ridgeline power plant air quality permit to W.Va. courts

Three citizen groups - Tucker United, the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, and the Sierra Club - have filed an appeal challenging an air quality permit for the proposed Ridgeline power plant and data center in Tucker County, West Virginia. The groups argue that the facility was wrongly classified as a minor source of air pollution and that critical emissions data was withheld from the public. The appeal focuses on two core issues: the facility's classification as a "synthetic minor source" of emissions rather than a "major source", and the withholding of emissions data that prevented citizens from independently assessing the facility's impact. The groups contend the West Virginia Air Quality Board ignored evidence on both counts.