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| Conservation
Issues |
Legislative Update - Week 4
Water Wars Barely Perking
Legislative movement on the antidegradation rule is barely trickling along. House judiciary committee chairman
Jon Amores has put together a process of “stakeholder” meetings that is meeting M W F this week and
next, but these meetings have yielded little.
Industry has yet to agree to any provisions other than those in their own Dirty Water Bill. And the highlight of
Wednesday’s meeting was an angry industry denouncement of DEP’s map that depicts what areas are off-limits to development
in the DEP plan.
“Foul,” they cried! “Misleading and deceitful,” they lamented! this, after industry had circulated its own
preposterous map claiming that virtually the whole state would be closed to development and business if a strong
antideg bill was implemented. The gall of these folks!
Leadership in both the House and Senate seems to be counting on the house judiciary negotiations to result in a
different bill than the one the Dirty Water Coalition has brought them. Legislative leadership also seems to be
hoping that the DEP version of antideg will take the heat off the legislature itself and stand up to the scrutiny
of the federal EPA.
Does this mean that the Dirty Water Bill is dead? Of course not. We won’t know for sure until Day 61, the day after
the last night of the session.
As for the DEP bill, we like the fact that the expert agency is writing this very technical rule instead of industry,
but we’re not happy with everything that’s in it. For instance, existing permits aren’t required to go through
antideg review, and nationwide permits (the ones used to permit large valley fills from mountaintop removal operations)
are exempt as well. Also effectively exempted are nonpoint sources of pollution (like timbering and agriculture,
a couple of the biggest sources of water pollution). Throughout the proposal, DEP would be given broad discretion
whether or not to require antideg reviews not such a hot idea if we have a hands-off administration.
Although DEP has included a Tier 2.5 designation the list of waters of special concern, like reproducing
trout streams, that industry threw out of the Dirty Water Bill DEP has yet to produce a new list of these
waters. Hopefully, we will see the completed list next week. This list is critical to our support of any antideg
proposal.
So what actions can you take regarding this issue? For starters, keep up the calls to Governor Wise, DEP Director
Callaghan and your local senators and delegates (contact info below). Tell them to kill the Dirty Water Bill and
support a strong antidegradation rule to protect our clean rivers and streams.
And if you can, come on down to E-Day! on Wednesday, visit your lawmakers in person, and tell them to flush the
Dirty Water Bill down the drain. E-Day! is the annual celebration at the Capitol for enviros from across the state.
For more info, visit www.wvecouncil.org
IN ADDITION, the marathon negotiating sessions are open to the public and we’d love to see some faces there other
than those of high-paid industry lobbyists (who are there in force). Your presence will tell lawmakers that a variety
of citizens really do care about protecting our clean rivers and streams. As of now, the sessions will be on Monday,
Wednesday and Friday of next week in the House Minority Committee Meeting Room on the main floor of the
Capitol, to the left of the House Chamber. The negotiations start at 3:30 p.m. Call West Virginia Rivers Coalition
at (304) 637-7201 or West Virginia Environmental Council at (304) 346-5905 to get up-to-the-minute schedules.
CONTACT INFO:
Governor Wise: governor@wvgov.org
Legislators: cglagola@mail.wvnet.edu (put Senator or Delegate's name
in subject line) or write to:
The Honorable _____________
Member, WV Senate or House of Delegates
Bldg. 1, State Capitol Complex
Charleston, WV 25305
You can fax letters to (304) 347-4819
DEP Director Callaghan: mcallaghan@mail.dep.state.wv.us or
call (304) 759-0570
Call Your Legislators toll-free at: 1-877-565-3447
Call Governor Wise toll-free at: 1-888-438-2731 or 558-2000 (local)
This message is delivered by West Virginia Rivers Coalition, seeking the conservation and restoration
of West Virginia's exceptional rivers and streams. For more information, visit us on the Web at www.wvrivers.org, or call (304)637-7201. |
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