Remember the Freedom Industries disaster? The bill to exempt oil and gas tanks is back (AKA The Aboveground Storage Tank Act) and is on the House Energy Committee’s agenda for this Tuesday, February 23. This year’s bill, HB 2598, is similar to last year’s rollback attempt – which you defeated! It would exempt certain oil and gas tanks that are closest to our public drinking water intakes. If this bill passes, over 1,000 tanks in 27 counties would become unregulated. View fact sheets from West Virginia Rivers Coalition to learn more. 

Act NOW: Tell members of the House Energy Committee to protect our drinking water and reject HB 2598.

Many of you helped us succeed in convincing the legislature in 2017 and 2020 to keep these oil and gas tanks in zones of critical concern (“ZCCs”) regulated by the AST Act. But industry keeps pushing. We must hold the line and say that all tanks within ZCCs should have the standards and oversight mechanisms of the Aboveground Storage Tank Act. Say no to HB 2598.

We know from the Freedom Industries tank leak that caused the WV Water Crisis what can go terribly wrong when tanks in ZCCs are overlooked. ZCCs are areas directly upstream from public drinking water intakes in which a released contaminant will reach the intake within five hours. Exempting tanks in ZCCs from regulation puts us in more danger because there is the added concern of not having enough time to respond if a tank fails.

Contact members of the House Energy Committee, say no breaks for tanks in ZCCs – reject HB 2598! 
(Click here for direct contact info for House Energy and Manufacturing Committee)

Thank you to our partners at WV Rivers Coalition for their work on this action alert and call to action!