Who needs water from the ground when it clearly comes from the trunks of cars?
So you contaminate about
300,000 residents' drinking water. It becomes clear that this is the
result of criminal violations of the Clean Water Act. Should you:
If you said "a," you are not paying attention to the political party that was voted into the majority this past November.
Members of a coalition of citizen groups called the West Virginia Safe Water Roundtable held a news conference Monday at the Capitol to draw attention to their concerns and to urge lawmakers not to roll back the state’s clean water laws.
On Tuesday, one broad bill backed by the West Virginia Coal Association is up for passage in the Senate, and efforts to attach industry-backed amendments to a Department of Environmental Protection rules bill are expected in a House committee.
West Virginia and the Grand ol' Party loves its coal workers, right?
Among other things, the bill (SB 357) as aimed at stopping successful citizen suits brought over mining company violations of Clean Water Act standards where those standards were not specifically written into state DEP permits and prohibiting the DEP from incorporating those standards into future coal permits. It also includes a long-sought change the coal industry wants to West Virginia’s water quality limit for aluminum.
The legislation has come under criticism, though, from the United Mine Workers union, which says it also weakens safety standards for coal miners.
Infuriating.