 |
| Conservation
Issues |
Legislative Update - Week 5
Antideg Approaching Critical Stage
On Wednesday, the Division of Environmental Protection released its proposed Tier 2.5 list of “waters of special
concern.” This list includes reproducing trout streams and other waters with exceptional quality. There are 444
streams totaling just over 2,000 miles on this list, the bulk of which are on public lands, mostly in the Monongahela
National Forest.
DEP calls it a very defensible list. The DNR, which helped prepare the list, says that there are more high-quality
waters that ought to be included. Industry’s Dirty Water Bill does not include a Tier 2.5 category at all, and
industry representatives at the Wednesday meeting of the House Judiciary Committee “antideg task force” said they
were totally opposed to including a Tier 2.5 category in the state’s antidegradation policy.
Next week will be a critical time period for the antidegradation bill. The “task force” will hold its last meeting
on Monday. Judiciary Chairman Jon Amores had hoped that those sessions might result in some type of compromise.
Industry lobbyists haven’t budged in these discussions, so it is possible that Chairman Amores will attempt to
replace industry’s Dirty Water Bill with the DEP “compromise” rule. But that’s just one possible scenario.
Actually, at this point what version of an antidegradation plan the legislature will be looking at, is nothing
more than a crapshoot. If the DEP version ends up being the “vehicle,” we’ll need your help to fend off any industry
amendments and strengthen the DEP proposal. If legislative leadership decides that the Dirty Water Bill will be
the “vehicle,” then we’ll have to work hard to kill it.
Also, we will be watching the Senate very closely. The bill is double-referenced to Senate Natural Resources and
Judiciary. As of now, it looks as if the Senate is waiting to act on whatever rule passes the House. Meanwhile,
we are continuing to examine closely the compromise version proposed by DEP; while we concede that it is better
than the Dirty Water Coalition proposal, we want to encourage DEP and the legislature to make it stronger, and
we want to be sure that it is easy for the public to nominate other deserving waters to the Tier 2.5 list.
What You Can Do: It’s time for a round of calls and letters to House Judiciary Committee members asking them to
“flush” the Dirty Water Bill and to support a strong antidegradation rule. (See contact info below). They are:
Amores, Manuel, Caputo, Coleman, Craig, Ferrell, Fleischauer, Givens, Hrutkay, Mahan, Pino, Joe F. Smith, Spencer,
Stemple, Thompson, Webster, Randy White, Wills, Armstead, Faircloth, Riggs, Schadler, Smirl and Webb.
ALSO
Great job out there, folks! So many of you sent DEP Director Michael Callaghan e-mail messages in support
of clean water that his computer just couldn’t handle it!
“It crashed,” he told us on Wednesday, and asked us to “call off the troops.”
So we have agreed to ask you NOT to send any more e-mail messages to Director Callaghan for a while. Instead,
send faxes to (304) 759-0526 or call (304) 759-0526. You can also mail letters to the Director at 10 McJunkin Rd.,
Nitro, WV 25143-2506.
Clearing the Water:
There has been some confusion about what the Dirty Water Bill is and where it currently sits. The Dirty Water
Bill is industry’s version of an antidegradation implementation plan. In the beginning, there was the Environmental
Quality Board’s version, but the Joint Legislative Rulemaking Committee amended the EQB version by substituting
the industry version in its place. Thus, we are left with the DWB, which has been introduced in both houses. In
the Senate, it is SB 381 and in the House it is HB 2719. They are identical. There are no other antidegradation
bills out there at this time. When contacting the governor, elected officials or DEP, you can reference these bills,
or simply refer to the Dirty Water Bill. If and when these bills take a different form, we’ll be sure to let you
know. Is this clear as mud?
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:
(304) 759-0570 phone
(304) 759-0526 fax
10 McJunkin Rd., Nitro, WV 25143-2506
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. |
|
|
|
