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