The company looking to build a controversial hydraulic fracturing wastewater treatment plant in Potter County sent another letter to the Seneca Nation of Indians — this time hoping to allay fears the project will be a hazard to the Allegheny River.

Tom Joseph, founder and CEO of Epiphany Solar Water Systems, wrote that his company sees an opportunity in Potter County to produce clean water. The company has the technology and can clean water safely, responsibly and cost effectively, he wrote.

“Our goal is to solve a small problem right now before it becomes a huge problem, and to make some money to continue funding our mission in the process,” the letter states. “The debates about the pros and cons of the oil and gas industry and hydraulic fracturing are not relevant to us. “

Plans call for Epiphany Allegheny LLC to construct a plant to remove metals and distill wastewater from the fracking process next to the Coudersport Area Municipal Authority wastewater treatment plant in Eulalia Township.

The Seneca Nation of Indians, which did not provide a response to the letter as of Friday night, continues to oppose the project. It says the facility would severely impact the Nation’s Allegany Territory, located 65 miles downstream on the Allegheny River.

Last month, Epiphany sent letters to the Seneca Nation and other opponents of the treatment plant warning them to cease and desist in making what the company maintained were false claims about the project.

The Senecas countered with an assertion they would continue their vocal opposition. On Friday, Seneca Nation President Todd Gates said he would speak at a press conference to address the latest developments at 2 p.m. today at the Cattaraugus Indian Reservation Volunteer Fire Department in Irving, N.Y.

In the latest letter, Epiphany offers a view of an industry that could realize a benefit from the environmentally sustainable process that the company has worked hard to develop.

“I know it may be difficult for people to reconcile the fact that we are working with natural gas producers with the fact that we are environmentalists, but this is simple: the industry needs a sustainable solution, and Epiphany has one to offer,” Joseph stated in the letter. “We understand that there are plenty of questions and concerns about the technology from the general public, and we know some of the science is not intuitive.”

Epiphany also knows the implications if an accident should happen at the property, Joseph wrote. He maintains the company would never risk contaminating a river.

In fact, Epiphany’s developers have committed many years of their lives and about $6 million of investors’ dollars to make sure the technology is sound prior to proposing a facility that transports water to nature, the letter states.

“So, to those people who do not believe our technology can do everything we say it can do, we invite you to meet with us and discuss it in more detail,” the letter states. “We are experts in engineering, and we have exercised extreme caution to develop the best possible solution for sustainable wastewater remediation.”

With much confidence in the company’s technology, Epiphany will voluntarily withhold discharge of water into the river for the first several months, pending sufficient information is compiled about the effectiveness of the facility.

“Our customers have already agreed to accept all of the processed water back for reuse during this time,” Joseph asserted.

In addition, company officials are in the process of putting in place an advisory group of reputable experts in environmental science to double check work and analyze the data.

“We hope to fill the advisory group with the most highly qualified proponents of environmental protection, including several of the academics that have been cited by our opposition,” Joseph wrote. “We believe these additional measures are sufficient to provide positive proof that our facility is every bit as safe and effective as we proclaim.”

He said the project meets all requirements set forth by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to obtain permits.

“Other companies with much less stringent standards have done this in the past and received little public pushback, and we could have chosen to do the same. Epiphany has done the opposite,” the letter states.

Joseph notes he founded Epiphany almost 10 years ago for something he calls a mission. During 2006-08, the company started to research numbers and determined that a world water crisis looms over all other problems.

“What we learned is that nearly half the world’s population is facing critical water scarcity, and solving it will require a massive increase in global desalination capacity,” he said. “Desalination on that scale using current technology would exacerbate the energy crisis and lead to global warming on a scale that is off the charts compared to any current projections.”