In 2024, when Sidewinder, LLC applied for a concept plan for its groundwater bottling plant in Middleway, the Foundation discovered that Charles Town Utility Board (CTUB) had an agreement with Sidewinder to own and operate the raw water line between the extraction wells and the water treatment plant on the former 3M property.
This agreement had been executed without a public vote of the CTUB board. This seemed to be a violation of the open meetings act. Making matters worse, it seemed that the CTUB board chairman at the time had merely signed this agreement as he was signing other routine documents that the general manager (Kristen Stolipher at the time) presented him. No substantial review of the contract had been conducted by him or the other members of the CTUB board.
The public uproar over this at the time drove the CTUB board to vote at the March, 26, 2025 meeting (minute 21:50 of this video) that all future agreements regarding the Mountain Pure bottling plant would come before the CTUB board and be voted on in open session.
While we do not want the groundwater bottling plant, because it will have negative impacts on our groundwater and hydrogeology and because its waterline and truck traffic will destroy the historic character of the Middleway Historic District, if the bottling plant does happen, we do want the water bottling plant development to partner with CTUB rather than a private for-profit utility like West Virginia American Water. CTUB is a public utility and is thereby beholden to the Freedom of Information Act and the Open Meetings Act. In this way the public will have visibility into the amount of water being extracted and the maintenance and leaks in the water line.
What is happening?
Last week, the Foundation discovered that the WV Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued the Charles Town Utility Board (CTUB) a stormwater construction permit registration for construction of Sidewinder’s raw water line. The DEP issued a stormwater construction permit registration in May 2026 for the raw water line from Sidewinder’s groundwater extraction wells, through the Middleway Historic District, to the site of the proposed industrial bottling plant on the former 3M property. The permit application was not noticed to the public as required by the conditions of the permit. This water line has the potential to irrevocably damage the historic structures in Middleway including the Civil War Hospital.
The agreement, between CTUB and Sidewinder, gives CTUB the right to inspect the engineering for the water line:
“CTUB shall bear no financial or other responsibility for the construction of the DEVELOPER’S Project. However, CTUB shall have the right to inspect and approve, prior to the implementation of service under this Agreement, the construction of the DEVELOPER’S Project to ensure that water will be satisfactorily distributed to the Development in accordance with applicable regulations and the terms of this Agreement, and that the Project is being constructed using sound engineering and construction standards, and using materials in compliance with CTUB’S standards and specifications.”
This means that CTUB’s engineers should have reviewed the permit application before it was submitted. It seems that the board members of CTUB did NOT know this permit registration had even been applied for – despite it being in CTUB’s name.
Based on information from the DEP electronic submission system, the application appears to have been prepared by Integrity Federal Services, the engineering firm that represents Sidewinder (Mark Dyck). The application was signed by former general manager, Kristin Stolipher (signature dated November 24, 2025, see document here). The application was started 14 days after Judge Cohee indicated from the bench that she intended to find for the County in Sidewinder’s lawsuit against the county (read more here). The application was submitted after Kristin Stolipher left CTUB (submitted March 17, 2026; Ms. Stolipher resigned February 6, 2026 and her last public meeting was February 11, 2026).
The applicant failed to post the appropriate public notice sign. The DEP reviewer requested corrections on April 22, 2026. The permit was revised on May 22, 2026. The revised portions of the permit were not signed, which is required. The permit reviewer failed to confirm that the required public notice sign was posted and failed to notice that the revised portions of the permit application (SWPPP) were not signed. The permit registration was approved on May 26, 2026. Note that May 22, 2026 was a Friday, and May 25, 2026 was a holiday so the permit revisions were reviewed for less than one business day before the permit was approved.
Why didn’t we know about this before it was approved? The construction stormwater permit requires that within 72 hours of a permit registration application submission, the application needs to be noticed to the public with a physical sign that in this case needs to be placed along the route where it is visible from a public road. The application appears to be started on November 24, 2025 and the permit appears to have been submitted on March 17, 2026. So, the notice sign should have gone up by March 20, 2026. However, the sign was not put up until September 4, 2026, and only after we complained to the DEP.
How did this happen? On March 26, 2025, the CTUB voted unanimously that any future agreements regarding the Mountain Pure project be brought back to the Board for discussion and public action. However, on November 25, 2025 Kristin Stolipher, who was then the general manager of CTUB, signed the permit application under penalty of perjury. The permit application IS an agreement (read the signature page here), so based on the March 26, 2025, vote of the CTUB Board, Ms. Stolipher did not have the authority to sign the permit without first taking the matter to the board for a public vote. She failed to do so. The permit was submitted on March 17, 2026; Ms. Stolipher was not even an employee of CTUB at the time the permit was submitted. This is all highly irregular.
Why did Ms. Stolipher sign this permit application seemingly without authority? We don’t know. We do know this: As the Observer article recently published on this subject (read the article here) pointed out, Kristin Stolipher is Commissioner Steve Stolipher’s wife. Commissioner Steve Stolipher was the only local and only public official who spoke in favor of the Sidewinder Mountain Pure project at the more than five-hour public hearing on the concept plan. Kristen Stolipher signed the application only a few days after the hearing in Sidewinder’s case against the Jefferson County Planning Commission in front of Judge Cohee, where Cohee stated she intended to find for the County and the Intervenors (Foundation and local property owners).
Why would Sidewinder apply for a permit without Concept Plan and Site Plan approval? We don’t know. It is odd to get the stormwater construction permit without the appropriate approval from the Planning Commission to start construction. Maybe Sidewinder intends to argue the raw water line is part of an essential utility because the permit has the utility’s name – Charles Town Utility Board – on the permit. This semantic detail does not make the water line a utility – it is clearly part of the development of the water bottling plant.
What the Foundation has done since discovering the permit
CTUB: It appears from our conversations with board members from CTUB, they were unaware of this permit application or the permit itself. We have not been able to identify any actions by the board that would have approved this. CTUB board members assured the Foundation that they would look into the permit application and the permit would not be signed by the General Manager (Paul Mantello) without the direction of the board.
WVDEP: We contacted Yogesh Patel, the Chief Engineer of the Division of Water and Waste Management at WVDEP. He investigated our concerns and reported to us Friday, September 4, 2026, that the public notice sign had indeed not been displayed as required by the notice and that the revised permit materials had not been signed as required.
Mr. Patel indicated that Larry Board (the supervisor of the permit reviewer, Robert Biller) had spoken to the current General Manager of CTUB, Paul Mantello, and that Mr. Mantello had agreed to sign the permit under a permit modification and post the required sign.
Mr. Patel also indicated that the Foundation and the public could provide comment while the application for permit modification was open. However, Mr. Patel was unclear how many days this would be and that it would be as long as it took the applicant to put out the sign and sign the application.
Application Materials
- CTUB applicaiton for sidewinder
- WVR113389 Review Application Comments: Notes
- 1942121_1_APPENDIX C ES Plan 2
- 1942127_1_Sidewinder ES Controls 2
- 1942155_1_Sidewinder NPDES Sign 2
- 1943809_1_31380102Sidewinder Raw Water Line SWPPP-2
- 1942426_0_GPPInspection Checklist
- 1943774_0_Certification signature
- 1943775_0_GPP Certification
- 1941959_0_TOPO MAP-2
- 1941963_0_31380102-Pipeline-Soil-Report-2
What Should Happen Next
This permit registration application appears to have been submitted under highly irregular circumstances, and for this reason, it should be closed by CTUB.
a. CTUB should decline the agency’s offer to modify the permit.
b. CTUB should submit a notice of termination and close the permit.
c. CTUB should hire independent outside counsel to investigate the circumstances surrounding this application and take any indicated action up to and including legal actions against any parties involved.
Pursuant to its contract with Sidewinder, CTUB should request the permit application and have the documents reviewed by its own engineers.
a. Section 2.02 of CTUB’s agreement with Sidewinder gives CTUB the right to inspect and approve the construction documents.
b. CTUB should have all of the portions of the application reviewed and revised as appropriate by their own experts in all appropriate fields.
Once the application is revised, CTUB should reapply for the permit registration.
As a good faith effort, CTUB should submit its application to public comment.
a. In question 12 of the application, CTUB should indicate that the grading phase will take more than 1 year.
b. This will trigger a requirement for 30-day public comment period.
c. This good faith effort is necessary because of the botched effort to obtain the permit without the public notice the first time.
d. The permit should be publicly noticed for a 30-day comment period after the permit reviewer approves the draft permit.
CTUB should support a public hearing after the initial comment period if the public requests one.
This process will give the public an opportunity to review, evaluate, and comment on the permit and for comments addressed and incorporated in the final permit before approval. This will provide the most protection to the Middleway Historic District and CTUB.
Take Action – Help Us Make This Happen
Attend the CTUB Meeting Wednesday September 9, 2026 at 4pm at the CTUB meeting room 661 South George Street, Charles Town (link to agenda). Tell the board we want:
o The permit to be closed and reapplied for with appropriate public notice.
o CTUB to commit to hold a public comment period and public hearing on the permit application.
o An investigation of why and how this permit was applied for without the knowledge of the board.
o You can also send comments ahead of the meeting.
Attend the Charles Town Council Meeting Tuesday September 8, 2026 at 7 pm at Charles Town City Hall 101 East Washington Street, Charles Town (link to agenda). Tell them:
o We are disappointed this was not an open transparent process.
o The City Council to support an investigation into how this happened.
o The City Council to urge CTUB to (1) withdraw the permit and (2) a commitment to do a public comment period when it is resubmitted.
Send public comment to the DEP on the permit modification that is currently open.
For both letters below (and please send both), please add a personal comment on how this matter affects you.