Who Decides? Power, Petition and a Permit in Mason County
Power comes from the people, and the people may petition. A data-center campus on the Ohio River shows how that works in West Virginia today.
A proposed data-center campus near Point Pleasant needs an air permit from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. The public may comment until Oct 30, 2026; then the agency answers in writing and decides. The unit works before or after that date. Your student traces the right to petition from the founding documents to that comment process, maps who decides each part of the project, and writes a public comment backed by evidence. The packet gives the record and the claims on each side, and your student reaches a conclusion.
What’s inside
- Five sessions for each path. High school sessions run 50–60 minutes; grades 7–8 sessions run 40–45 minutes.
- Primary sources: the Declaration of Independence, the First Amendment, The Federalist No. 51, and Articles III and V of the West Virginia Constitution.
- The agency’s permit notice and figures, sorted into record, claim and estimate.
- A decision-chain diagram and a “say it back” discussion protocol.
- High school writing task: a 400- to 600-word public comment and a two-minute oral statement, with a 20-point rubric and an optional essay.
- A full grades 7–8 path: a card sort, percent problems with real permit data and a shorter comment.
- A word bank and a portfolio record.
Grades and standards
Grades 9–12, with a full grades 7–8 path. West Virginia standards: SS.C.2, SS.C.3, SS.C.6, SS.C.11, SS.C.18, SS.C.20, ELA.9.16, ELA.10.20, SS.8.2, SS.8.3, SS.8.4, M.7.3, ELA.8.17, ELA.8.20.
Instant PDF download, $49. Included with a Pharos Terminal subscription.