Tag: Department of Interior

New River Gorge National Park To Close During Government Shutdown

Across the country thousands of park rangers will be furloughed, gates will be locked, and visitor centers will be closed at national park sites, if there is a government shut down, including all of West Virginia’s national park and forest lands.

Updated on Sept. 29, 2023 at 4:14 p.m.

October is peak season for visitors at the New River Gorge National Park, but it may be forced to close as early as Sunday due to the government shutdown.

The Department of the Interior, which is responsible for managing the National Park Service, has announced that if there is a shutdown then the National Park Service will be closed. 

Across the country thousands of park rangers will be furloughed, gates will be locked, and visitor centers will be closed at national park sites, including all of West Virginia’s national park and forest lands. Areas that are impossible or impractical to restrict public access to will remain open. The park service is discouraging the public from visiting national parks and forests during the government shutdown.  

States, local governments, cooperating associations, and other third parties can donate money to keep the park running during the shutdown but that is subject to the approval of the National Park Service director. However, Gov. Jim Justice says the state has no current plan to support the park during the shutdown.

The park service will continue activities necessary to protect life and property like law enforcement and emergency response, protection of federal land, property, and waterways. 

Federal Funds To Help Improve Local Waterways

The Biden administration has committed to investing in the nation’s infrastructure, and that includes natural infrastructure like rivers and waterways.

The Biden administration has committed to investing in the nation’s infrastructure, and that includes natural infrastructure like rivers and waterways.

The Department of the Interior announced Thursday that 40 fish passage projects will receive a total of nearly $38 million this year including projects in the mountain state.

The bipartisan infrastructure law will invest $200 million in the National Fish Passage Program over the next five years to address outdated, unsafe or obsolete dams and other barriers fragmenting our nation’s rivers and streams.

As part of the announcement, federal officials visited the Albright Power Station Dam in Preston County to discuss the dam’s removal and the positive impact it will have on neighboring communities.

Removing the obsolete dam, built in 1952 on the Cheat River, will help increase public access and recreational opportunities and improve public safety.

Engineering is underway, and removal is planned for 2023.

The state will also benefit from a Potomac Headwaters Restoration project that will remove 17 fish passage barriers across West Virginia, Maryland and Virginia.

Thursday’s announcement comes on the heels of Monday’s launch of a separate $1 billion America the Beautiful Challenge that will accelerate locally led land, water and wildlife conservation efforts across the country.

Feds: West Virginia Mining Regulations Aren't Being Enforced

Federal officials say the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection has failed numerous times to enforce state rules governing the coal-mining…

Federal officials say the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection has failed numerous times to enforce state rules governing the coal-mining industry.

A three-year investigation by the Department of Interior’s Office of Surface Mining Reclamation Enforcement concluded that the department exhibited a lack of proper water quality monitoring, poor oversight of reclamation standards and inconsistent efforts to ensure mountaintop removal doesn’t cause localized flooding.

The report says mine inspectors weren’t collecting quarterly water pollution samples, even at mines which had repeatedly violated permit limits.

The DEP was privately told of the findings last fall and has said it would more than double the state water sampling budget this year.

DEP spokesman Jake Glance did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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