Dear LWV-WV Members,
We're writing to urge you to contact legislators and tell them to oppose
two measures that would weaken regulations intended to protect our
drinking water and public health.
Tell the House Judiciary Committee: No More Toxins in Our Water
Tomorrow, March 1, the House Judiciary Committee will hold a virtual
public hearing on HB 2389, the Water Quality Standards Rule.
Registration for the hearing has closed, but you can still make your
voice heard by contacting members of the committee and telling them not
to allow more chemical toxins in our water.
The WV Rivers Coalition has more information here [1], along with an
easy way to send a message to all the committee members. You can also
find contact information of House Judiciary Committee Members here [2].
Say No to Removing Regulation for Storage Tanks Near Drinking Water
Intakes
Another bill moving in the House of Delegates would exempt oil and gas
tanks in "zones of critical concern" (ZCCs) from the Aboveground Storage
Tank (AST) Act. ZCCs are areas directly upstream from public drinking
water intakes in which a released contaminant will reach the intake
within five hours. The Freedom Industries tank leak in 2014 demonstrated
what can go terribly wrong when tanks close to our drinking water
intakes are overlooked. The water crisis that resulted when the drinking
water for over 300,000 West Virginians was contaminated by the leak
spurred unanimous passage of the AST Act. Now, industry lobbyists want
deregulate oil and gas storage tanks closest to our drinking water
intakes, with HB 2598.
On Tuesday, members of the House Energy Committee sent the bill the full
vote, however, House Speaker Roger Hanshaw agreed to send the bill to
the Health Committee for further scrutiny [3]. Now is the time to let
Health committee members know HB 2598 puts our drinking water at an
unnecessary risk.
See this WV Rivers Coalition action alert [4] to send a message to the
committee, or click here [5] for a list of House Health Committee
members and their contact information.
Thank you for taking action to protect our drinking water and our
health!
LWV-WV Natural Resources Committee
Links:
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[1] https://wvrivers.salsalabs.org/senatejudiciary/index.html
[2] https://wvecouncil.org/wv-legislature/house-judiciary-committee/
[3]
https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/energy_and_environment/proposed-rollback…
[4]
https://wvrivers.salsalabs.org/2021NoRollbackstoASTAHealth/index.html
[5]
https://wvecouncil.org/wv-legislature/wv-house-health-and-human-resources/
