An advocacy group formed after the January 2014 Elk River Chemical spill will launch a campaign aimed to create a publicly-owned water system in the Kanawha Valley.
In a Thursday news release, Advocates for a Safe Water System says the organization will launch the “Our Water” campaign Tuesday at the University of Charleston. The group seeks to have a public takeover of West Virginia American Water.
Advocates for a Safe Water System accuses the utility of “failures to invest in a safe, reliable water system.” The group also plans to outline the need for a locally-owned water system.
A news conference is scheduled for Tuesday, September 8 at noon at the Rotunda Patio located behind Riggleman Hall on UC’s campus.
The group says information related to the Our Water campaign will be available at ourwaterwv.org as of September 8. The new website will include a link to a petition as well as other campaign information.
The January 2014 spill of a coal scrubbing chemical at the Freedom Industries site in Charleston spurred a tap water ban for 300,000 West Virginians for up to 10 days. West Virginia American Water’s intake is located a mile downstream of the spill site.
An advocacy organization formed after a 2014 chemical spill has filed a petition to intervene in West Virginia American Water’s rate case.
The state’s biggest water utility is seeking Public Service Commission approval for a 28 percent rate increase. The company attributes the proposed increase to $105 million in system improvements since 2012 and $98 million in projects planned through February 2017.
Advocates for a Safe Water System said it filed a petition to intervene with the PSC on Friday. The organization said in the petition that any changes in rates should improve the safety of the water system and “otherwise promote the public interest.”
The organization was formed after the chemical spill sullied the utility’s water for 300,000 people for days.
Environmentalists, activists and artists of all sorts are commemorating the one year anniversary of a chemical spill into the Elk River near Charleston. The spill of MCHM by Freedom Industries tainted the water supply of 300,000 West Virginians across nine counties and left them without usable tap water for days.
Here’s a list of some of the events happening around Charleston and elsewhere to mark one year since the spill:
Kick off events for ‘January: A Month of Water’
Organized by WV Safe Water Roundtable, a group made up of other groups such as the West Virginia Rivers Coalition, The Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition and Advocates for a Safe Water System, event’s kick off Friday and will last throughout the month.
3– 5 p.m.: Citizen Education Workshops at the WV Culture Center
Two 2-hour free workshops sponsored by the West Virginia Rivers Coalition that will inform everyone about clean water issues and give them the tools and support to get involved.
5 – 6:15 p.m. Dignitary Remarks and Networking Reception at the WV Culture Center
Invited dignitaries include Sen. Joe Manchin III, Sen.-elect Shelley Moore Capito, Rep. David McKinley, Rep.-elect Alex Mooney, Rep.-elect Evan Jenkins, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, DEP Sec. Randy Huffman, Incoming Bureau for Public Health Commissioner Dr. Rahul Gupta, Sen. Bill Cole, Del. Tim Armstead, Charleston-area outgoing and incoming legislative members. Refreshments will be served.
6:30–7:15pm Honoring the Waters Interfaith Vigil
One-Year Anniversary Candlelight Vigil at the Kanawha River in front of the WV State Capitol.
7:30–8pm Reception
In the WV Culture Center, vigil participants and filmgoers gather.
A shot of the Sutton Dam from Mike Yougren’s “Elk River Blues.”
A world premiere of the documentary film by Mike Youngren features West Virginians’ response to systemic failures that continue to threaten our water. Film sponsored by the West Virginia Rivers Coalition and the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Charleston in the WV Culture Center Theater.
Vandalia Collective Puppet Protest
Credit VanCollective
/
On January 9th at 1:30 p.m. the Vandalia Collective will be in downtown Charleston at the Kanawha County Library, and immediately following in front of the Capitol Building, raising awareness about last year’s chemical spill. They will also promote remembrance events hosted later that day.
[glug]: An Original Play from The Lunar Stratagem Theatre Company
Credit Provided
/
Actors Nicole Peronne and Nathan Mohebbi in the original work [glug].
The Lunar Strategem is an award-winning theater group based in Huntington. They premiere their newest work, [glug], Jan 8-10 at The Joan C. Edwards Performing Arts Center on the campus of Marshall University. Performances are each night at 7:30 in the Francis-Booth Experimental Theater. Tickets are $12 at the door and free to Marshall Students.
Grown-up siblings Herbert and Myrtle (Nathan Mohebbi and Nicole Perrone) have lost their trail of breadcrumbs and will go to any lengths to bring water to their town. They even raid their own dreams for some trace of their father, a noted scientist who disappeared under mysterious circumstances when he revealed that the town’s reservoir had been poisoned. Water is as elusive as memory in [glug], a witty, hallucinatory fairy tale for adults.
Regulators ordered a water company under investigation for its chemical spill response to produce emergency plans and information potentially protected by anti-terrorism laws.
The state Public Service Commission ordered West Virginia American Water on Friday to produce many documents it opposed releasing.
The PSC says some information potentially shielded by state and federal laws can be considered. It will be confidential from the public.
Advocates for a Safe Water System said Friday it was pleased with the ruling. The group is intervening in the investigation, alongside businesses affected by the spill and the PSC’s Consumer Advocate Division.
The water company has said those documents were beyond the investigation’s scope and are being sought in civil lawsuits.
Freedom Industries’ January spill contaminated the company’s water supply for 300,000 people for days.
West Virginia regulators say they may consider information potentially protected by federal laws in their investigation into January’s chemical spill. The investigation focuses on West Virginia American Water’s response to the incident.
At Monday’s state Public Service Commission meeting, Chairman Michael Albert said documents and emergency plans protected by anti-terrorism laws could be deemed essential and considered.
West Virginia American Water says many records, including emergency response and prevention plans, are shielded by law or are beyond the investigation’s scope. Many have been requested in civil lawsuits.
Businesses affected by the spill, Advocates for a Safe Water System and the PSC’s Consumer Advocate Division disagree. They think some documents aren’t protected and would show how appropriately the water company reacted to the Jan. 9 spill.
A PSC order on the matter is expected this week.
The Freedom Industries spill contaminated 300,000 people’s tap water for days. At Monday’s state Public Service Commission meeting, Chairman Michael Albert said protected documents and emergency plans deemed essential could be considered.
West Virginia American Water says many records, including emergency response and prevention plans, are shielded by law or beyond the investigation’s scope. Many have been requested in civil lawsuits.
Businesses affected by the spill, Advocates for a Safe Water System and the PSC’s Consumer Advocate Division disagree. They think some documents aren’t protected and would show how appropriately the water company reacted to the Jan. 9 spill.
A PSC order is expected this week.
The Freedom Industries spill contaminated 300,000 people’s tap water for days.
