Tag: Data

Only 8 Counties See Growth In State, Most In Eastern Panhandle

Only eight of West Virginia’s 55 counties grew in population from 2022 to 2023. Most of these were clustered in the Eastern Panhandle and Potomac Highlands regions.

From July 2022 to July 2023, the vast majority of West Virginia counties experienced population decline.

Forty-seven of the state’s 55 counties decreased in population in the one-year span, according to data released by the United States Census Bureau last week.

But among the eight counties that saw growth, five are located in the Eastern Panhandle and Potomac Highlands region.

Berkeley County grew at a rate of 2.37 percent. Jefferson, Morgan, Hampshire, and Hardy counties also saw growth, clustering the greatest population increase in the easternmost region of the state.

In north central West Virginia, Monongalia and Marion counties also saw slight growth, with rates of 0.69 percent and 0.04 percent respectively.

The sole representative of southern West Virginia, Monroe County, grew its population by 0.5 percent in the one-year span.

Despite some regional growth, population decline across most counties echoes a years-long trend of population loss in West Virginia.

To view the full list of county-level population trends in West Virginia from 2022 to 2023, visit the Census Bureau website.

Community Air Monitoring Data Would Be Inadmissible In Proceedings Under House Bill

A bill under consideration in the West Virginia House of Delegates would disallow community air monitoring data from being used in legal or regulatory proceedings.

A bill that received committee support in the West Virginia House of Delegates Tuesday would prevent publicly sourced air pollution data from being used in lawsuits and regulatory proceedings.

House Bill 5018 was drafted in response to the rise of community air monitoring in West Virginia. This refers to pollution data collected by members of the public, as opposed to governmental agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Proponents of the bill said it would ensure that air pollution data used in legal or regulatory proceedings meet standards set by accredited state and federal agencies.

But, at a meeting of the House Committee on Energy and Manufacturing, some lawmakers voiced concerns that the legislation would limit residents’ abilities to identify and substantiate air pollution concerns.

“I’m not a massive fan of this bill,” said Del. Kayla Young, D-Kanawha.

“I think more community air monitoring is a good thing, not a bad thing,” she continued. “We shouldn’t be hurting our citizens and getting rid of transparency. So, I’m a no on this one.”

Young said that lawmakers have not done enough to invest in air monitoring, despite recent EPA funding allocated to the state for these projects.

Still, the bill received support from a majority of committee members, who referred it back to the House with the recommendation that it be passed.

“Community monitoring is not forbidden by this bill at all,” said Del. Mark Zatezalo, R-Hancock, who sponsored the bill. Zatezalo added that the pending legislation would simply set a standard for what quality of data is admissible to official proceedings.

“Good data and better, supportable data is important for ongoing analysis,” he said. “I have a hard time trying to figure out why that is a big, big problem.”

State Ranks Near Bottom In Electricity Reliability, Federal Data Show

West Virginia has the most frequent power interruptions except for three states. And it has the longest power interruptions of any state but one.

West Virginia has some of the worst electricity reliability in the country, according to federal data.

West Virginia has the most frequent power interruptions except for three states. And it has the longest power interruptions of any state but one.

That’s according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Annual Electric Power Industry Report.

West Virginians experienced an average of nearly three interruptions a year in 2022, and an average duration of more than 15 hours. The U.S. average was 1.4 outages and 5.6 hours.

Most of those interruptions were not during major weather events, such as December 2022’s Winter Storm Elliott, when temperatures plunged into the single digits and below zero.

Only Florida, with two major hurricanes in 2022, had outages with a longer average duration. Alaska, Tennessee and Maine had more annual power interruptions.

Geospatial Professionals Raise Awareness About Their Field

Geospatial professionals gathered at the West Virginia Capitol on Wednesday to raise public awareness about their field.

Geospatial professionals from across West Virginia gathered at the Capitol today to teach the public about their field.

Geospatial science is colloquially known as the study of “where,” and examines geography trends. Plus, it can be applied across industries, according to Taryn Moser, state geographic information system (GIS) coordinator with the West Virginia Office of GIS Coordination.

“We are not just maps,” Moser explained. “We work in real estate. We work in banking and business. We work in the DNR. There’s a wide spectrum of disciplines here today, and a wide spectrum of geographic data within the state of West Virginia.”

Today’s displays showed how geospatial science helps professionals make informed decisions in fields like geology and meteorology. Meryl Friedrich, who works for the Division of Natural Resources, said it even helps identify regional trends in wildlife conservation.

“We’ve been doing a lot of citizen science surveys, where we allow the public to report any animals that they see,” Friedrich explained. “Specifically, box turtles, fireflies, hellbenders and mud puppies and river otters are the ones we’re looking at now.”

Friedrich said that the DNR uses geospatial science to analyze trends in citizen science reporting. “It’s really great to get the public involved in those projects,” she added.

Moser and Friedrich both said they hope today’s session helped West Virginians better understand the geospatial resources and opportunities available to them. To view some of these resources, residents can visit the Office of GIS Coordination website.

State Officials Work To Ward Off Water System Cyberattacks

West Virginia officials are teaming up to bolster cybersecurity for local water and wastewater services.

In December, national security authorities identified an increase in cyberattacks targeting local water systems across the country, prompting calls to strengthen their cyber protections.

In response, officials with the Office of Environmental Health Services (OEHS) — part of the West Virginia Department of Health Bureau of Public Health — are now coordinating cyberattack prevention initiatives with local water systems across the state.

Cyberattacks can disrupt water services, steal consumer data and install dangerous software remotely. In a Tuesday press release, State Health Officer Matthew Christiansen said that the state’s renewed cybersecurity efforts can hamper threats to local water services.

“Water systems can reduce their risk by updating computer equipment regularly, using secure passwords and resetting them regularly, requiring employee training to safeguard against an attack and ensuring clean drinking water is provided to residents,” he said.

OEHS will also work with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to spread awareness about the federal agency’s free cybersecurity assessments.

Through these efforts, officials said that they hope to bolster cybersecurity for local water systems across West Virginia.

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