WVEC Action AlertMarch 12, 2010Contact All House of Delegates Members! Ask them to REFUSE to concur with:
Please take the time early Saturday to call or e-mail your Delegates and especially the Speaker of the House, Rick Thompson. Ask them to REFUSE to concur with the Senate versions of HB 4277 and HB 4513. HB 4277 Background: Gives the DEP Secretary the authority to sign NPDES water quality permits. This change clearly violates provisions of the federal Clean Water Act that require NPDES permits to be issued and signed by the head of the “Expert Agency” in charge of a states Water Pollution Control program. The Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection is a political appointee and NOT an expert in water quality protection. The legislature should REJECT this bill. HB 4513 Background: This WAS a good start for regulating withdrawal of water for drilling and fracturing these Marcellus shale wells. The bill contained regulations requiring identification of the contents of frac fluids – and set up a system for tracking the disposal of those fluids. However, changes to this bill made by the Senate removed critical language that would have protected streams from being “sucked dry” by Marcellus Shale well drilling operations. In addition, the Senate amended SB 369 into this bill! SB 369 would change the definition of a "shallow well" so that it applies to vertical Marcellus Shale wells. This would essentially legalize stealing of gas from neighboring mineral owners. This bill is also bad for surface owners because without well spacing, there can be more of these larger sites on the surface, with no limit on how close together they can be. The bill is also bad for the environment because it would result in more well sites, meaning more forest fragmentation, more soil erosion and stream sedimentation, and increased risks to groundwater. The legislature should KILL THIS BILL ! ●Visit the capitol website: http://www.legis.state.wv.us
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