House Energy Committee Approves DEP Rules

Fifteen DEP rules bills passed out of the House Energy Committee this week; a complete list is here.

Several of these are being promulgated in response to federal (Clean Air Act) rather than state legislation.

Several delegates, because of their antipathy toward the EPA, voted against these bills; notwithstanding the fact that failure to pass them would likely result in the DEP losing primacy to the EPA as the enforcement agency. It was a peculiar thing to observe.

H.B. 4103 covers water quality standards, including the weakened standards for aluminum and selenium that the coal industry has wanted for some time. We still think this is a bad idea. Concise talking points by WV Rivers are here.

H.B. 4104 is the vehicle for aboveground storage tank rules. WV Rivers’ list of changes most crucial to those rules are here.

How you can help: Please contact House Judiciary members and ask them to make these important changes to these two rules bills!