West Virginia regulators to hold public meeting Thursday on proposed coal-to-gas facility

Public meeting set on W.Va. coal-to-gas project

GILBERT, W.Va. — West Virginia regulators will hold a public meeting next week on a draft air pollution permit for a planned coal-to-gasoline facility in Mingo County.

The meeting is set for 6 p.m. Dec. 17.

Representatives of the state Division of Air Quality will accept comments on the permit and provide information about the project. Written comments can be submitted until 5 p.m. Dec. 18.

New York-based TransGas Development LLC announced last year it planned to build the plant near Wharncliffe. The facility is expected to turn 3 million tons of coal a year into methanol that would then be converted into as many as 756,000 gallons of gasoline a day.

The state Department of Environmental has given preliminary approval to the permit.