Above Ground Storage Tanks
WV Rivers recently submitted comments on proposed changes to West Virginia’s rule governing Above Ground Storage Tanks (47CSR63). Several of the changes DEP put forward would weaken protections around leak detection, secondary containment, and inspection timelines.
What stands out most is where these ideas came from. Many of the same provisions appeared in the original version of SB641 last year, and lawmakers removed them before the bill passed. Lawmakers have already said no to this. Writing it into the rule asks the public to accept something that the legislature already turned down.
WV Rivers made this point directly in our comments and asked DEP to withdraw those sections. The next step is keeping an eye on when the rule will make it onto the agenda for the legislative rule-making review committee during interims. We will use that as an opportunity to reiterate the points we made to DEP.
Flooding
We were in Charleston during interims and sat in on the Joint Committee on Flooding and came away with a mix of good and concerning news. Bob Martin, Executive Director of the State Resiliency Office, confirmed that five million dollars has landed in their accounts. Thanks to the advocacy of Rivers and others throughout the state, as well as the Governor. However, Martin also seemed to imply that he would like to see the restrictions on their funding loosened, opening up more of that funding for uses like the Governor’s early warning system, beyond nature-based solutions. We plan to keep an eye on this heading into session.
We also heard from the American Flood Coalition about a federal bill, H.R. 4669, that could lower the federal share of disaster assistance funding from seventy-five percent down to as little as fifty percent. Their message to lawmakers was blunt: West Virginia should start preparing for more of the recovery from a disaster landing on state and local budgets. Resilience will be important to keep at the forefront during session.
Southern West Virginia Water Crisis
WV Rivers met with Delegate David Green (R-McDowell) during interims to talk through the drinking water crisis in his district and what new legislation might look like. Our team and From Below are now working directly with the Delegate to draft a bill that will be ready to introduce as soon as the session opens. Once the bill has a number, we will need you to reach out to your own legislators and ask them to support it, and to show up during session to let them know how important it is that we address this crisis now. Our work in SWV is a collaborative effort, and we appreciate the advocacy of local groups like From Below and Smithers and Friends.
