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Cloudy with periods of rain. Low 52F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch. Locally heavy rainfall possible.
The West Virginia Senate has sent to Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s desk industry-backed legislation that would allow increased water pollution.
The Senate voted 32-2 along party lines Friday to pass , an environmental rules package that includes a change that would allow removal of a drinking water use designation for surface waters in certain circumstances and risk a less precise indication of Ohio River fecal contamination.
Only Minority Leader Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell, and Assistant Minority Leader Joey Garcia, D-Marion, voted against HB 2233, which the Senate approved without debate.
The drinking water use designation removal, backed by the , was negotiated by that agency with the , which has long fought for less stringent water quality oversight.
HB 2233’s Senate passage came after the House approved it in an 82-14 vote on March 12.
The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced the bill at a Tuesday meeting despite testimony from deputy director Autumn Crowe raising concerns it could allow more pollutants into waterways.
Toxic chemical pollution limits for drinking water use are significantly more stringent than limits for aquatic life and other uses.
Coal Association: ‘The workable answer’
DEP Deputy Secretary Scott Mandirola noted to the Judiciary Committee a measure in the bill would allow approved proposals for removal of a drinking water use designation to bypass the Legislature with both DEP and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approval. Those approved proposals would later go before state lawmakers through an emergency rulemaking process, Mandirola indicated.
“It reduces the time period [before] which it can become effective for a period of about 12 months before this body acts on it,†Mandirola said, referring to the Legislature.
vice president Jason Bostic backed the proposed rule change, characterizing it as a shield against what have been cumbersome federal drinking water standards. Bostic said the drinking water use designation has been a “severe problem†for the coal industry.
“[T]his solution is finally the workable answer,†Bostic said.
Bostic dismissed concern from Garcia that EPA-approved drinking water use designation changes could take effect before legislators get a chance to review them.
“In my experience, the Environmental Protection Agency at the federal level doesn’t approve anything in a hurry,†Bostic said.
Bostic acknowledged that under the rule newly revised and approved by the Legislature, new pollutant discharges could impact waters before the Legislature could act on already approved drinking water use designation removals. The Judiciary Committee rejected an amendment proposal from Garcia designed to erase that gap.
“The way this legislative rule is drafted, it cuts red tape,†Senate Judiciary Committee Vice Chairman Tom Willis, R-Berkeley, said in defense of HB 2233 as presented and subsequently approved. “It saves time.â€
But Garcia argued HB 2233 was a risky rollback of West Virginia lawmaker oversight of state waters.
“I understand the idea of trying to work with industry and trying to help with economic development. But we also and always have to think about our water,†Garcia said. “We talk about tourism here. We talk about people coming to the state of West Virginia. We talk about our beautiful parks. We talk about our beautiful parks. We talk about river activities, everything like that, and it all comes down to — that’s the one resource we cannot afford to lose.â€
Deluged by drinking water violations
Under the proposed rule change — which is labeled HB 2236 within the larger rules package named HB 2233 — fecal coliform would be the bacteria with a maximum allowable level for the main stem of the Ohio River despite E. coli, a type of fecal coliform, being commonly recognized as a more specific indicator of health risks.
Mandirola previously told legislators the EPA indicated it could not approve the previously proposed change from fecal coliform to E. coli and that the DEP would have time to “pull more data†and evaluate the relationship between fecal coliform and E. coli at higher levels before its next triennial review of water quality standards.
Drinking water regulations have been violated in West Virginia at a disproportionately high rate in recent years, EPA data show.
The violations have been piling up faster and more out of proportion with the rest of the country.
West Virginia’s percentage of public water systems with health-based violations of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act in 2023 was 26.1%, far exceeding the 4.8% national average and higher than all other states but Louisiana. West Virginia’s percentage of public water systems in this category had been just 4.7% in 2015.
Mike Tony covers energy and the environment. He can be reached at mtony@hdmediallc.com or 304-348-1236. Follow on X.
