Associated Press, Author at West Virginia Public Broadcasting

W.Va. Officials: Water Regulations Hard to Enforce

West Virginia environmental officials say the state lacks a strong program to deter falsification of coal company water samples.

The Charleston Gazette reports that Department of Environmental Protection officials made that observation Thursday at a regulatory board hearing. The state Environmental Quality Board did not rule on an appeal by Appalachian Laboratories Inc., which lost its Clean Water Act certification after an employee pleaded guilty to falsifying water quality samples.

DEP laboratory auditor Tommy Smith said the agency doesn’t conduct field inspections to determine if water quality samplers are acting appropriately, which makes the sort of misconduct that took place in the Appalachian case hard to detect.

Scott Mandirola, director of DEP’s Division of Water and Waste Management, acknowledged that regulations should be modified.

W.Va. Board OKs Plan for More Flexible School Days

Members of the state Board of Education have approved a pilot program that will give school districts more flexibility in planning their instructional…

Members of the state Board of Education have approved a pilot program that will give school districts more flexibility in planning their instructional days.

The Charleston Gazette reports that all 55 county school districts may apply for the program.

Education officials say those accepted into the pilot program will be able to extend or shorten the instructional period at one or more of their schools.

They’d also be able to also count out-of-class teaching like students receiving instruction online during a snow day toward their instructional minutes.

Schools in the pilot program will still be required to technically have 180 instructional days as required by state law. However, officials say there won’t be a requirement on how long those days are or whether some are held outside the classroom.

W.Va. Checks Tobacco Sales to Minors

West Virginia officials say retailers continue to ensure they’re not selling tobacco to minors.

An annual statewide survey indicates that 87.8 percent of retailers inspected did not sell tobacco products to youth under the age of 18 during 2014.

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources says it’s the 15th consecutive year in which West Virginia has been in compliance with federal requirements that limit retail sales of tobacco to minor youth.

Bureau for Behavioral Health and Health Facilities Commissioner Vickie Jones applauded retailers and employees for their efforts to prevent tobacco sales to minors.

Northern West Virginia Drug Task Force Shares Ideas

A task force on drug abuse in northern West Virginia is emphasizing the need for more treatment programs and better education for parents on the signs of heroin addiction.

The Intelligencer reports that leaders of the Ohio Valley Addiction Action Plan Working Group shared the group’s ideas Wednesday at Wheeling Hospital. The panel was formed by U.S. Attorney William Ihlenfeld II in August to develop strategies to fight drug addiction.

Ihlenfeld said two-thirds of heroin addicts have a history of prescription painkiller abuse. He said increased demand for heroin coupled with a cheap supply of the drug through dealers from Chicago and New Jersey created perfect conditions for a drug epidemic in the Ohio Valley.

DEP to Restore Coal River

West Virginia officials are kicking off plans to restore the Coal River.

The state Department of Environmental Protection has committed $1 million to plan and begin a stream restoration project targeting the main stem of the river.

Officials with nonprofit watershed association the Coal River Group says the section of the river targeted for restoration has been severely impacted over the past 70 years by coal mining and highway, commercial and residential construction. Bill Currey of the Coal River Group says sedimentation is the primary impediment to water quality by restricting water flow. The group sought the project.

The Charleston Gazette reports that the first step will be to study the full 21 miles of river that make up the lower Coal River.

Loaded Gun Found in Woman's Bag at Yeager Airport

A Putnam County woman won't face charges after a loaded gun was found in her carry-on bag at Yeager Airport.The Transportation Security Administration…

A Putnam County woman won’t face charges after a loaded gun was found in her carry-on bag at Yeager Airport.

The Transportation Security Administration says TSA officers staffing X-ray machines at a checkpoint detected the .380-caliber semi-automatic handgun Wednesday morning.

The agency says in a news release that the gun was loaded with seven rounds, including one in the chamber.

Yeager Airport Police confiscated the gun but chose not to arrest the Scott Depot woman.

The federal agency says the woman missed her flight to Atlanta.

Airport Police Chief Robert Long tells the Charleston Daily Mail that the woman told officers she forgot the gun was in her purse. He says the woman has a West Virginia concealed carry permit.

Long says the incident was “just an oops.”