Storage Tanks on Elk River
WV needs changes in state regulations after chemical leak
From an Article by Whitney Burdette, Charleston Daily Mail, January 21, 2014
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The West Virginia Rivers Coalition and Downstream Strategies have co-authored a report outlining specific recommendations they think the Legislature should take in light of the recent chemical leak.
Angie Rosser, executive director of West Virginia Rivers Coalition, said in a news release this report is the only one of its kind to emerge after the January 9th chemical leak that contaminated the water supply for 300,000 residents and West Virginia American Water Co. customers.
“We speak for those who expect more of our government, more in its approach and much more in its attitude toward protecting our water supplies and our health,” Rosser said. “We bring the voices of all West Virginians whose water is threatened by contamination. They demand meaningful change and accountability at every level of government.”
The 84-page report focuses on issues, information gaps and policy remedies as they relate to environmental laws most relevant to the chemical spill, including the Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act and Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act.
Evan Hansen, president of Downstream Strategies, said the report presents “comprehensive reforms to protect our water supplies.” “We show how state and local governments could have significantly reduced the risk of this spill occurring and more effectively responded to it,” Hansen said.
Downstream Strategies is a Morgantown-based consulting firm specializing in environmental science policy and research and water system research. The firm announced last week it is available to conduct independent testing of a consumer’s water supply.
The report makes several recommendations, including:
Officials “change their tone and expectations to hold the Department of Environmental Protection accountable for fully and consistently enforcing its permits and all environmental laws,”
The Legislature should require the Bureau for Public Health and other entities to write protection plans and fund those plans,
The Legislature should provide state-specific protective standards for chemicals used in large quantities in the state, and
Support local emergency planning committees and local governments in planning efforts to manage and minimize risk.
P.S. The full 84 page report is entitled “The Freedom Industries Spill: Lessons Learned and Needed Reforms“
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http://www.WSAZ.com
Another Chemical Found in Elk River after Recent Massive Spill
January 21, 2014 By: WSAZ News Staff
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) — Another chemical was found in the Elk River after the massive spill that happened Jan. 9 and led to a several-day water usage ban for more than 100,000 West Virginia American Water customers in parts of nine counties.
The chemical is called PPH and is used in conjunction with the MCHM that already had been identified. MCHM is used to clean coal, and PPH makes it even more fluid.
State Homeland Security officials learned the information Tuesday morning after Freedom Industries, the company responsible for the leak, handed over some documents.
The chemical has not been detected in tests that have been conducted by the U.S. National Guard.
Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s staff is still waiting to get information from the Centers for Disease Control.
This latest round of testing will continue. At this point, officials say no new water bans or restrictions have been put into place as a result of this new information.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/20/erin-brockovich-chemical-spill_n_4629472.html
Erin Brockovich Pitches ‘Game Changer’ Following West Virginia Chemical Spill
Erin Brockovich, the hollywood honored consumer advocate whose work inspired the 2000 film by the same name, weighed in on the West Virginia chemical spill during a Sunday MSNBC appearance.
The environmentalist and legal clerk, who traveled to Charleston, W.Va. to evaluate the spill, suggested crises like the spill are a product of failed oversight. Brockovich said criminal charges could be a “game changer” for the industry, raising the stakes for compliance.
“Regarding Freedom Industries, it was absolute arrogance, it was lack of oversight, and we have to step that up and we have to look at how it is we’re overseeing it,” Brockovich said. “We implement a lot of regulations and oversight. The problem is there’s no follow through. We just don’t consistently follow through and then a disaster like this happens.”
Watch the full video segment above.