House bill to protect waterways:

Legislators want to prevent fish kills

Another fish-kill disaster like Dunkard Creek is on the horizon, and new laws are needed to protect state waterways. One of those efforts is House Bill 4001, created and co-sponsored by local delegates, and the first House bill introduced during the 2010 session. Delegate Barbara Evans Fleischauer, D-Monongalia, is the primary sponsor of HB 4001. She and others noted that there are some obstacles to getting a bill passed.

Not everyone in the Legislature understands the extent of the kill, or that the expansion of golden algae makes it a statewide issue. HB 4001 would amend the existing Water Pollution Control Act to enable the DEP to develop standards to control levels of total dissolved solids (TDS) in state waterways. It would require mining, gas drilling and other industries to conform with those standards for discharges into waterways. The DEP and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have said the Dunkard fish kill was caused by a bloom of golden algae -- P. parvum, a plant that thrives in salty water and produces a toxin that can kill fish, mussels and salamanders. Chloride, a component of salt, is also an element of TDS.

You can have most influence by contacting the Office of the Governor, 1900 Kanawha Blvd. East, Charleston, WV 25305. You can email the Governor at Governor@wvgov.org See also: E http://www.wvgov.org