NEW HAVEN — Recent activity at Appalachian Power’s Mountaineer Plant landfill has prompted company officials to issue a warning to individuals who trespass on company property.

The warning is specifically directed at operators of all-terrain vehicles, or ATV’s, who are entering the site to hunt or ride for pleasure without permission. According to Charlie Powell, Mountaineer Plant manager, the company intends to identify and pursue prosecution of trespassers.

“Our primary concern is public safety,” said Powell. “Our landfill is an active work site where heavy equipment is operating around the clock, and the landscape changes each day.”

According to a press release, the landfill site is used to store ash, a by-product of burning coal to produce electricity, as well as gypsum, a by-product of the plant’s scrubber. The scrubber is used to remove up to 95 percent of sulfur dioxide emissions from the plant’s flue gas stream.

Powell encourages individuals with information concerning trespassers to report it to the local sheriff’s office, the West Virginia State Police or the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources, or to the company’s toll-free security hotline, 1-866-747-5845.

Appalachian Power has almost one million customers in Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee. It is a unit of American Electric Power, one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, which delivers electricity to more than five million customers in 11 states.