Posts
PNN 3-9-14
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RWS
Vivian Stockman, Project Coordinator with the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition
SEIU "TALLY REPORT" - Rebecca Wakefield, Ron Bilbao & Subhash Kateel
Karina Veaudry RLA, Landscape Ecologist, & Executive Dir. Florida Native Plants Society
Juan Escalante Communications Director of DreamActivists.org
Walter Ewing PhD Sr. Researcher at Immigration Policy Center
Amelia Steadman McGowan Esq Specialist in Immigration Law & Human Rights
Bill Chandler Executive Director MIRSA (MISSISSIPPI IMMIGRANTS RIGHTS COALITION)
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1. What you need to know
1a. Water issue looming as legislative session starts Tuesday By Fred Hiers / Staff writer
1a. Water issue looming as legislative session starts Tuesday By Fred Hiers / Staff writer
Published: Monday, March 3, 2014 at 3:30 p.m.
Environmentalists and Florida lawmakers who want tougher policies to protect the state's springs, rivers and groundwater remain hopeful for progress this legislative session, despite some warnings that this may not be their year.
Some Florida state senators are crafting a comprehensive package expected to address water quality problems with many Florida lakes, springs and the aquifer. The legislation will include tougher regulation of wastewater treatment plants and farm fertilizer application, provide for the replacement of thousands of leaking septic tanks, and devote as much as $400 million per year in real estate taxes to clean up water.
The holdup, if there is one, might come from the House. Speaker Will Weatherford recently told The News Service of Florida that while he is "sensitive" to water legislation being formulated, the issue is too widespread for handling during one legislative session; instead, he will focus on issues "we can control."
"I think we'll tackle a lot of the funding issues this year," said Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel. "I think there is an opportunity for us to address some of the policy issues, but water is so broad, you have water quality, you have water quantity, water infrastructure and how we move water resources."
Weatherford has deferred water policy issues to Rep. Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, who is slated to be speaker in 2015.
Senate President Don Gaetz told the Tampa Tribune that his scheduled successor, Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, as well as Crisafulli, have already "staked out" environmental issues, and he doesn't want to infringe on that arrangement.
Despite those rumblings, Sen. Charlie Dean, R-Inverness, who is among a handful of lawmakers crafting the springs protection legislation, predicts some measure of new water policy legislation will succeed this year.
"It just wouldn't make sense to keep ignoring what we brought to the forefront and everyone has been asking for," Dean said.
He added: "I have been in the Legislature a long time, and one thing you have is compromise available to you. I think we can come together (on springs protection). I would be the most disappointed person if we walk away from this with nothing. I just know there's a way to get this done."
Sen. Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, one of the architects of the Senate's springs protection proposal, said he wasn't troubled by Weatherford's stance, according to the News Service of Florida.
"I think we've got an ambitious agenda in the Senate, but I think we are on the right track," Simpson said. "It will take a few years to fully ramp up and be able to spend a $150, $200, $300 million a year. But at least with the path known, our agencies — DEP, the water basin boards — can start planning for these projects."
Ryan Smart, with the Florida Conservation Coalition, said there is still time for the House to craft something. To do nothing in the House, he said, would be wrong.
"We're in a crisis mode right now. I don't think the springs can wait until next year," Smart said.
The alternative is for the Legislature to keep funding individual projects, he said, but that would not be as beneficial without a larger policy change.
"You're just cleaning up the damage that you've already done," he said.
But that approach appears to be what Crisafulli has in mind. He told the Associated Press that "most of what we're looking at right now is project-related, not policy-related."
One example: determining ways to reduce the amount of water released from Lake Okeechobee into sensitive ecosystems west and east of the lake.
Another: a cleanup of the Indian River Lagoon, which suffers from high nutrient levels, failing area septic tanks and invasive vegetation.
He also wants to focus on finding ways to store more water north of Lake Okeechobee, which would alleviate pressure on the lake's aging dike and reduce the amount of water released into sensitive ecosystems.
Last year, water levels in the 730-acre lake rose to dangerous levels during a series of heavy rains. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released large amounts of water, and its contaminants, into the Indian River Lagoon, which some environmentalists say detrimentally affected the area's delicate ecosystems.
Smart said the proposals are good, but a piecemeal approach could end up distracting from the need for broader water policy.
Other than the springs protection legislation and plans for Indian River and Lake Okeechobee, Smart does not see much other significant environmental legislation on the near political horizon.
Eustis Whitfield is a senior environmental adviser with the Dawson & Associates law firm in Washington and was environmental adviser to four Florida governors. Whitfield also thinks the Indian River and Lake Okeechobee proposals are good but need to be part of a larger environmental policy.
"Florida is a very big state. To concentrate only on one part of it is not broad-minded enough," Whitfield said.
Whitfield said he hopes public pressure will be enough to force the House to move toward more sweeping legislation.
"When the people speak loud enough … and often enough the political system listens. That's the hope we have," Whitfield said.
Whitfield said Weatherford's announcement to push off any springs protection legislation until next year is bad news.
"That was one of the last things we wanted to hear," Whitfield said. "But we can't go home and say, ‘Oh well, we'll see you next year.'?"
Meanwhile, there are a few subplots that could influence how lawmakers shape water legislation this year. Some examples:
Voters will decide in a November referendum whether to invest some existing taxes paid on real estate transactions into water and springs programs.
Some suggest the money could be used to fund the proposed springs protection legislation. Others think the two issues should be separate.
Lawmakers backing springs protection legislation are trying to broaden their support base by limiting the financial burden on municipalities. The changes would mean local governments would not be required to implement the legislation unless there is state money to pay for it.
Gov. Rick Scott has proposed $55 million for the springs in the coming year, a $45 million increase from last year. It is likely that Silver Springs would benefit from that money.
But, again, Whitfield and others fear that such piece-by-piece funding encourages the selection of individual water projects rather than a comprehensive and broad approach to fixing Florida's water problems.
Sen. Charlie Dean, R-Inverness, whose district includes part of Marion County, is among a handful of lawmakers crafting the springs protection legislation.
The holdup, if there is one, might come from the House. Speaker Will Weatherford recently told The News Service of Florida that while he is “sensitive” to water legislation being formulated, the issue is too widespread for handling during one legislative session; instead, he will focus on issues “we can control.”
“I think we'll tackle a lot of the funding issues this year,” said Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel. “I think there is an opportunity for us to address some of the policy issues, but water is so broad, you have water quality, you have water quantity, water infrastructure, and how we move water resources.”
Weatherford has deferred water policy issues to Rep. Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, who is slated to be speaker in 2015.
Senate President Don Gaetz told the Tampa Tribune that his scheduled successor, Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, as well as Crisafulli, have already “staked out” environmental issues, and he doesn't want to infringe on that arrangement.
Despite those rumblings, Dean predicts some measure of new water policy legislation will succeed this year.
“It just wouldn't make sense to keep ignoring what we brought to the forefront and everyone has been asking for,” Dean said.
He added: “I have been in the Legislature a long time, and one thing you have is compromise available to you. I think we can come together (on springs protection). I would be the most disappointed person if we walk away from this with nothing. I just know there's a way to get this done.”
Sen. Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, one of the architects of the Senate's springs protection proposal, said he wasn't troubled by Weatherford's stance, according to the News Service of Florida.
“I think we've got an ambitious agenda in the Senate, but I think we are on the right track,” Simpson said. “It will take a few years to fully ramp up and be able to spend a $150, $200, $300 million a year. But at least with the path known, our agencies — DEP, the water basin boards — can start planning for these projects.”
Ryan Smart, with the Florida Conservation Coalition, said there is still time for the House to craft something. To do nothing in the House, he said, would be wrong.
“We're in a crisis mode right now. I don't think the springs can wait until next year,” Smart said.
The alternative is for the Legislature to keep funding individual projects, he said, but that would not be as beneficial without a larger policy change.
“You're just cleaning up the damage that you've already done,” he said.
But that approach appears to be what Crisafulli has in mind. He told the Associated Press that “most of what we're looking at right now is project-related, not policy-related.”
One example: determining ways to reduce the amount of water released from Lake Okeechobee into sensitive ecosystems west and east of the lake.
Another: a cleanup of the Indian River Lagoon, which suffers from high nutrient levels, failing area septic tanks, and invasive vegetation.
He also wants to focus on finding ways to store more water north of Lake Okeechobee, which would alleviate pressure on the lake's aging dike and reduce the amount of water released into sensitive ecosystems.
Last year, water levels in the 730-acre lake rose to dangerous levels during a series of heavy rains. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released large amounts of water, and its contaminants, into the Indian River Lagoon, which some environmentalists say detrimentally affected the area's delicate ecosystems.
Smart said the proposals are good, but a piecemeal approach could end up distracting from the need for broader water policy.
Other than the springs protection legislation and plans for Indian River and Lake Okeechobee, Smart does not see much other significant environmental legislation on the near political horizon.
Eustis Whitfield is a senior environmental adviser with the Dawson & Associates Washington law firm and was environmental adviser to four Florida governors. Whitfield also thinks the Indian River and Lake Okeechobee proposals are good but need to be part of a larger environmental policy.
“Florida is a very big state. To concentrate only on one part of it is not broad-minded enough,” Whitfield said.
Whitfield said he hopes public pressure will be enough to force the House to move toward more sweeping legislation.
“When the people speak loud enough …and often enough the political system listens. That's the hope we have,” Whitfield said.
Whitfield said Weatherford's announcement to push off any springs protection legislation until next year is bad news.
“That was one of the last things we wanted to hear,” Whitfield said. “But we can't go home and say, 'Oh well, we'll see you next year.' ”
Meanwhile, there are a few subplots that could influence how lawmakers shape water legislation this year. Some examples:
• Voters will decide in a November referendum whether to invest some existing taxes paid on real estate transactions into water and springs programs.
Some suggest the money could be used to fund the proposed springs protection legislation. Others think the two issues should be separate.
• Lawmakers backing springs protection legislation are trying to broaden their support base by limiting the financial burden on municipalities. The changes would mean local governments would not be required to implement the legislation unless there is state money to pay for it.
• Gov. Rick Scott has proposed $55 million for the springs in the coming year, a $45 million increase from last year. It is likely that Silver Springs would benefit from that money.
But, again, Whitfield and others fear that such piece-by-piece funding encourages the selection of individual water projects rather than a comprehensive and broad approach to fixing Florida's water problems.
Reach Fred Hiers at fred.hiers@starbanner.com and 352-867-4157.
2. Retirement Retreat
The dream of a comfortable retirement is dying for many Americans. It’s being extracted as a form of tribute to the very rich, a redistribution of our nation’s wealth, a “tax” imposed on the middle and lower classes and paid for with their retirement savings.
1. A $6.8 Trillion Retirement Deficit in America. But $8 Trillion in New U.S. Wealth Was Created in 2013.
The problem is that most of the new financial wealth went to the richest 10% (almost 90 percent of all stocks excluding fast-disappearing pensions). Basically you already had to be rich to share in the new wealth, and the people taking the wealth can defer taxes as long as they want, and then pay a smaller rate than income earners. Meanwhile, according to the National Institute on Retirement Security, Americans are at least $6.8 trillion short of what they need for a comfortable retirement.
2. $6,500 is the Median Retirement Fund for Upper-Middle-Class 50- to 64-Year-Olds
That’s based on an analysis of the second-highest quartile of Americans by the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis. It may get worse before it gets any better. The percentage of 75- to 84-year-old seniors falling into povertydoubled from 2005 to 2009. That was BEFORE the recession. And the number of elderly Americans, notes the Administration on Aging, is steadily rising, likely by 75 percent between 2010 and 2030, to almost 70 million people.
3. ZERO Wealth Gained among 93% of Us, While the Richest 12,000 Families Made $100,000 EVERY Day
It’s estimated that the richest .01% each made at least $40 million last year. A work day for many of them consists of logging in to their portfolio to see how many tens of thousands of dollars were added in the previous 24 hours. A stunning 93 percent of Americans LOST wealth, on average, in the post-recession “recovery.”
4. TWICE the Cost of Pensions — That’s What Ten States Pay in Corporate Subsidies
This comes from a study by Good Jobs First of ten states with severe pension issues. The study found that “in all 10 states, the total annual cost of corporate subsidies, tax breaks and loopholes exceeds the total current annual pension costs.”
Americans who have worked all their lives, dutifully paying for their retirement years, continue to be accused of greed and threatened with pension cutbacks. David Cay Johnston calls it “nothing short of theft.”
5. 40 Cents of Every 401(k) Dollar Goes to the Banks
Saving $1,000 a year for 30 years in a non-fee 401(k) fund and then holding the accumulated sum for another 20 years would net an investor $269,000. With a smallish-sounding industry average fee of 1.3%, the same investor would net just $165,000, a 39% reduction.
6. Two Dollars: The Approximate Wealth of Black Families for Every $100 of Wealth for White Families
According to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), median wealth for black families in 2009 was $2,200, compared to $97,900 for white families. ( Pew Research reported $5,677 for blacks, $113,149 for whites).
It doesn’t seem possible that this number could get worse. But since the recession, black and Hispanic wealth has dropped further, by 30 to 40 percent, as the wealth of white families dropped 11 percent.
7. Almost 10 Percent of an Underserved Household’s Retirement Money Goes for Financial Fees
A U.S. Office of Inspector General survey reports that “The average underserved household has an annual income of about $25,500 and spends about $2,412 of that just on alternative financial services fees and interest.” That includes fees for payroll cards, prepaid cards, subprime auto loans, and numerous other financial products that are sold to over 68 million financially underserved U.S. households.
A Death Tax? It’s not the tiny amount paid on multi-million dollar estates. Instead, it’s the slow death of millions of baby boomers, the victims of 35 years of deregulated greed at the very top of our nation’s mountain of wealth.
8. Federal agents descend on site affiliated with Freedom Industries
by Ashley B. Craig / Daily Mail staff by Matt Murphy
Advertiser
AMANDAVILLE, W.Va. — Dozens of federal agents and state investigators descended on a site owned by a company connected to Freedom Industries Thursday afternoon.
Agents gathered evidence throughout the evening at Diversified Services, the company that transported crude MCHM for Freedom Industries from Charleston to Poca Blending.
Officials from the State Police, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation, including the FBI's Evidence Response Team, were all on site. Questions were referred to the Charleston FBI office.
Chris Courtright, the FBI resident agent-in-charge in Charleston, would not confirm or deny any details of the apparent search.
U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin said he couldn't comment on the situation.
One worker, who asked not to be identified, said there were about 40 agents on the site when he arrived for work Thursday.
Officials could be seen in and around the Diversified Services building and talking to neighboring residents. The team was also taking water samples from small streams near the property.
Diversified Services is used by Freedom Industries to transport crude MCHM, and has done so for several years.
In January, Diversified Services was the company responsible for moving remaining crude MCHM from Freedom Industries' facility along the Elk River in Charleston to a storage facility at Poca Blending in Nitro.
Neighbors around the Diversified Services property have complained to state and local officials about the stench associated with MCHM for years and expressed concerns about how MCHM is handled at the site.
Specifically, neighbors told the Daily Mail earlier this year they've seen tanker trucks with lids propped open and runoff from the tanks being washed running toward the Kanawha River.
The chemical's telltale licorice odor hung in the air around the site Thursday.
After the January crude MCHM leak at Freedom Industries' Etowah Terminal along the Elk River, neighbors said the state Department of Environmental Protection visited Diversified Services numerous times.
Diversified Services was formed in 2010 by Daniel Kessler with a listed purpose of "real estate."
Kessler also owns Buffalo Ridge Farms & Environmental Services, which is licensed to do business as Allstate Wrecker and Recovery and Buffalo Ridge Pre-owned and Rebuilder Sales.
9. TRUST… loss of, see W.VA Govt.
"This is all about trust," she told Gazette reporter Travis Crum while waiting to refill water jugs, a day after the governor's announcement and many weeks after West Virginia American Water Company assured everyone they should drink the water.
But the governor, his public health staff and West Virginia American Water had long since lost the public's trust, and they could not have done it more thoroughly if they had drawn up a plan first. In the early hours, first they weren't sure what chemical was in the water. Then they couldn't say what the effects are on human health, or what is considered a safe level.
Still, people deal with uncertainty. "I don't know" is sometimes the only honest answer, and the public expected the professionals to figure it out and advise.
But when the flushing instructions came, they did not take into account large structures or people with septic tanks. Water company and state health officials encouraged people to use the water right away, only to learn that breathing the vapor and washing in it sent some people to hospitals and caused less severe symptoms in who knows how many others. And when people reported these concerns, for their pains they received a lot of doubletalk and insults.
State and federal public health and water company officials all mouthed the words "abundance of caution," but their actions belied their words. What they really showed was an abundance of wishful thinking.
Everyone wants things to get back to normal, they seemed to think, so the sooner we say all is well, the sooner everything will be back to normal.
But people aren't stupid. They know their water didn't smell like licorice before the spill, and out of a true abundance of caution, chose in large numbers not to drink or cook with it until they had some reason to have more confidence. The more Gov. Tomblin's public health director Letitia Tierney belittled people's concerns, the more West Virginia American Water President Jeff McIntyre ignored worries that the chemical lingered in residential pipes and appliances, the more they put their assurances ahead of their data, the more trust they lost.
For the longest time, state health officials seemed to have no interest in testing homes to verify what they were assuring people - that all was well. Gov. Tomblin only reluctantly agreed to home testing. His public health people still don't seem to know if they want to study possible health effects long-term. Last week, Ann Goldberg, director of public-health regulations for the state Bureau of Public Health, told lawmakers there are no plans for long-term study, the Gazette's David Gutman reported. Perhaps sensing that was the wrong answer, DHHR spokeswoman Allison Adler clarified in a follow-up email that they are reviewing a plan and they'll need money. This week, Delegate Meshea Poore, D-Kanawha, observed that Tierney has been inconsistent in her messages to lawmakers on the need for more study. That's putting it mildly.
Of course, everyone has wanted the crisis to be over, to get back to normal. But - more wisely than their "leaders" - state residents don't pretend all is well when it isn't, or when they lack the data to make a determination. What no voter, taxpayer, ratepayer, householder, business owner or anyone else wanted was premature reassurance.
And that brings us to the other crisis. Sunday marks the two-month anniversary of the chemical spill. The next time there is a public health emergency - and there is always a next time - thousands of West Virginians will not trust their public health officials, even the diligent ones. Well-being and possibly lives may be at stake, and the professional, expert advice that the public needs and pays for will all be suspect. Their cautions, their recommendations, their prohibitions, all carry less trust than they did two months ago. This is a dangerous state of affairs.
10. WV Senate passes amended chemical spill bill
by Dave Boucher - Daily Mail Capitol Bureau Chief
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The West Virginia State Senate approved a bill crafted in the wake of the recent massive chemical spill, accepting the bulk of the extensive changes made by the House of Delegates.
"With the public's input and their constant attention to Senate Bill 373, I think Senate Bill is an example of how the system actually works," said Senate Majority Leader John Unger, D-Berkeley.
The bill creates a new regulatory system for aboveground storage tanks, calls for greater emergency preparedness measures by public water utilities and local communities and more oversight from several state agencies.
In approving the changed Senate Bill 373, the Senate sends the measure back to the House. The House must concur to the changes for the bill to go to the desk of Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin for final approval.
The Senate stripped one of the many additions made by the House, which passed its own version of the bill. The provision, proposed by Delegate Justin Marcum, D-Mingo, exempted the oil and gas industry -- and potentially every facility mentioned in the bill-from having to pay fees outlined in the measure.
"The House amendment basically stripped out the opportunity to fund the enforcement of this provision," said Unger, who sponsored the amendment.
The DEP and some environmental groups feared the amendment, which passed 55 to 41, left the state with a new aboveground storage tank regulatory system and no means to fund the enforcement of the new rules.
The bill approved Friday is very different than the measure passed by the Senate on Jan. 28.
The Senate bill, incorporating exemptions and other provisions from a Tomblin-backed measure, was first hacked up in House Health and Human Resources. The House Judiciary Committee further changed the bill, creating new definitions for aboveground storage tanks, calling for updated water protection plans and mandating the state conduct longterm medical monitoring.
The House Finance Committee removed several aspects from the judiciary changes, including the longterm medical studying and the mandate for West Virginia American Water Co. to install an early monitoring substance detection system at its Elk River treatment plant. Delegate Rupie Phillips, D-Logan, also successfully amended in two provisions that exempted coal companies from several fees.
All of these finance committee changes were reversed by the full House before it passed the bill.
The House must agree with the amendment to the Senate changes to the bill by Saturday night, the final day of the legislative session
11. House Finance Committee changes chemical spill bill
by Dave Boucher - Daily Mail Capitol Bureau Chief
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A House committee removed a requirement in legislation created after the recent chemical spill for long-term medical monitoring Monday.
It was one of several changes made Monday evening by the House Finance Committee, the fifth legislative committee to discuss Senate Bill 373.
The bill was crafted in response to the Freedom Industries chemical leak that contaminated water for 300,000 West Virginians.
The medical monitoring provision was added by the House Judiciary Committee during a nearly nine-hour meeting that stretched into the early hours of Sunday morning.
By a 12-to-11 vote Monday evening, the finance committee supported an amendment from House Minority Whip Daryl Cowles, R-Morgan, to strip the provision from the bill.
"There could indeed be medical monitoring, just not required in this bill as a matter of general law," Cowles said.
Local, state and federal health officials are still working to determine whether the more than 500 people who reported health problems were actually sickened by the spill. Dr. Letitia Tierney, state health officer and commissioner for the Bureau for Public Health, told the committee such information would have been needed for successful medical monitoring.
The bill did not provide funding for the monitoring, and Tierney said she wasn't sure how much it would cost. She didn't think the bill needed a mandate for the bureau to conduct the monitoring.
"In all honesty no, because I'm going to try and do it anyway," Tierney said when asked if it needed to be included in the law.
There's a difference between trying to conduct such testing and actually doing it, said Delegate Don Perdue, D-Wayne.
Perdue, chairman of the House Health and Human Resources Committee, pointed to the recommendations from Kanawha-Charleston Health Department head Dr. Rahul Gaputa that such monitoring was vital.
Considering the national implications of the spill, Perdue thought the state would have found funding from the federal government or elsewhere.
"Intentions sometimes get pushed aside in favor of budgetary concerns," he said.
Delegate Eric Nelson, R-Kanawha, agreed with Cowles that the unknown potential costs were a concern. Nelson was joined by six other delegates representing areas affected by the leak in opposing the provision. Those other delegates are Bob Ashley, R-Roane, Rupie Phillips, D-Logan, Ron Walters, R-Kanawha, Troy Andes, R-Putnam, Kevin Craig, D-Cabell, and Carol Miller, R-Cabell, The committee also removed a change from the judiciary committee that would have required West Virginia American Water Co. to install new early warning monitoring equipment at it's Elk River plant, the facility contaminated by the chemical leak.
The judiciary committee essentially required the site have a monitoring system to serve as an early warning system in the event of a spill, and included a list of types of contaminants the system needed to be able to detect.
A system that would meet the requirements of the bill isn't in use at any treatment plant in the country, said water company spokeswoman Laura Jordan.
"There is no one device that can test for all of these contaminants," Jordan said.
Jordan and West Virginia American Water lobbyist Louis Southworth distributed information opposing the provision in the bill before the start of the meeting.
The information doesn't make mention of a piece of equipment called a gas chromatograph, which can detect for certain organic contaminants. The equipment is installed at the company's Huntington plant but not the Elk River site, Jordan said. She said it wouldn't detect all of the contaminants included in the judiciary committee's addition to the bill.
The committee also exempted coal companies regulated under the state surface coal mining and reclamation act from several fees, passing two amendments proposed by Phillips.
He also tried to exempt such companies from a portion of the bill that would allow the Bureau for Public Health to enter, inspect or conduct sampling at sites that fall under the purview of the state Department of Environmental Protection in the bill.
"Well, they're already regulated," Phillips said, when asked why he thought the exemption was needed.
Delegate Nancy Guthrie, D-Kanawha, pointed out the chemical industry is also regulated. That regulation, and a failure to communicate, helped exacerbate the problem following the contamination of the water supply, Perdue said.
Perdue and Finance Committee Chairman Brent Boggs, D-Braxton, said they opposed the amendment In response, Phillips downplayed the danger of chemicals used at surface mining sites.
He said the chemicals used at surface mines are "not the type of chemicals that would cause a big health concern."
MCHM, the main chemical involved in the recent spill, is used in the cleaning and processing of coal. It's typically used at coal preparation sites, which are regulated under the act Phillip's referenced and would have therefore been exempt from the proposed bill under Phillips' amendment. - The amendment failed.
Another change, proposed by Delegate Kevin Craig, D-Cabell, exempts barges or similar boats because they are already regulated under federal code, Craig said. The amendment passed.
The committee also removed a requirement that every potential contaminant source in a zone surrounding a public water source must have an individual DEP stormwater permit.
Craig argued such permits would be burdensome.
The change still allows the DEP the right to require certain facilities in the zones to have the individual permits, as opposed to general stormwater permits.
Before the finance committee passed the bill, the House officially read the bill a first time. That means it can be considered on the second of three required readings once the finance committee officially approves the bill. Amendments can still be proposed during either of these stages, according to the provisions of the first reading.
If House rules aren't changes, it's likely the bill will pass Wednesday. If the Senate doesn't agree with changes to the bill, each chamber will suggest certain lawmakers participate in a conference committee.
The legislative session ends at midnight Saturday.
Contact writer Dave Boucher at 304-348-4843 / or / david.boucher@dailymailwv.com
Follow him at www.Twitter.com/Dave_Boucher
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