Tag: Governor Earl Ray Tomblin

In-Home Testing After Elk River Chemical Spill Launches

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin announced Tuesday the West Virginia Testing Assessment Project for residents in the nine counties affected by the Jan. 9 chemical spill into Elk River.

The project, which will make use of $650,000 from the state budget according to Tomblin, will be conducted by independent scientific experts under the direction of Dr.  Andrew Whelton, assistant professor of environmental engineering at the University of South Alabama, and Corona Environmental Consulting.

Gov. Tomblin said West Virginia American Water president Jeff McIntyre offered financial support for the WV TAP project but no money from the company has been accepted.

Both Tomblin and Whelton referred to the project as “unprecedented.”

Whelton said the project has three main objectives:

1. To convene an international panel of experts to examine the West Virginia safety factor of 10 ppb MCHM drinking water screening level.

2. Determine the drinking water odor threshold for MCHM.

"This action is important because it is possible that people that can detect MCHM odors at concentrations less than the sensitivity of labratory instruments," said Whelton.

3. Conduct a focused drinking water residential sampling study. 

  • Whelton said this will begin with a sampling of 10 homes across the nine counties affected (one per county, except for two in Kanawha Co.).
  • These 10 homes were selected with help from non-profits in the area, he said.
  • Testing will begin Wednesday and will take three weeks to complete.
  • Results will be released directly to homeowners as part of this study but, there will be an effort to provide this information to the public.
  • Whelton says those involved will not be reporting to the Department of Health & Human Resources or other government agency to ensure the independent nature of the project.

Whelton also noted plans for a larger scaled testing project to include a sample “much greater than 100 homes” as a continuation of the study. He also suggested the need for animal toxicity studies on MCHM as well as medical monitoring for those affected by the incident.

Five Things West Virginia Heard Wednesday from CDC, EPA, & Gov. Tomblin

Governor Earl Ray Tomblin was joined Wednesday by state officials as well as officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Environmental Protection Agency to provide an update to the ongoing response to the January 9 chemical spill by Freedom Industries into the Elk River.

Here’s what we learned from the briefing:

1. The 1 parts per million threshold for MCHM doesn’t declare the water “safe.”

Dr. Tanja Popovic, Deputy Associate Director for Science for the CDC, echoed earlier explanations that the 1 ppm standard for MCHM levels in the water was determined by three safety factors, which multiply to 1,000. She also stated that the recommendation means the water is “acceptable for use” rather than “safe.”

2. CDC officials say it is “unlikely” for the water to cause long term health effects.

Popovic also says that it is “unlikely” for the water to cause long term health effects based on the “short-term exposure” of those who reported symptoms, as well as their symptoms being deemed “generally mild.” She also says the CDC has no plans to monitor the population affected by the chemical spill and subsequent water crisis.

3. The state interagency team who has been involved in the efforts following the chemical spill does not plan to test homes.

While many reporters asked about testing in homes, no one would answer questions about whether or not this type of testing would calm concerns in the area. Gov. Tomblin, however, did say he is not against the idea of testing “a sample” of homes but, does not plan to test all customers affected by the spill.

Update: Just after 5 p.m. Wednesday, Governor Tomblin made this announcement via Twitter:

4. EPA officials are taking a look at research to determine whether chemicals will leave residuals in pipes.

EPA Region 3 Drinking Water Branch Chief Bill Arguto says the goal of a past study done by the agency’s Water Security Division looked to see what chemicals would leave residuals in a water piping system. He says chemicals with low partition coefficients would not leave a residual.

“The two chemicals that are involved here are MCMH (sic) and PPH—have very low partition coefficients. So, it is anticipated that it would not leave a residual. But, it is an issue that we need to look at,” Arguto said.

The studies Arguto spoke of did not take a look at MCHM or PPH, which were the ones involved in the January 9 spill.

5. EPA officials have deemed the site of the leak at Freedom Industries is “stabilized.”

Shawn Garvin, the EPA’s Administrator for Region 3 (Mid-Atlantic) says his agency has been involved in response efforts since day one and the agency had a team on site on January 10. Garvin said the EPA has deemed the site of the leak “stabilized” but expects that the chemical is in the ground there. He also noted that work is underway to empty and dismantle storage tanks.

After Wednesday’s briefing, what questions do you still have about the chemical leak?
 

CDC, EPA Officials Coming to Visit W.Va. After Chemical Spill

Officials from the federal agency that helped determine when people could use their water again will be visiting Charleston. Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin on…

Officials from the federal agency that helped determine when people could use their water again will be visiting Charleston.
 
     Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin on Wednesday will give officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention an update on last month’s chemical spill. Environmental Protection Agency officials will join them.
 
     After the Jan. 9 chemical spill, the CDC created a scale that determined when 300,000 affected West Virginians could safely use their water. Days after a water-use ban was lifted, the agency then said pregnant women should avoid drinking the water.
 
     State and federal officials have called for more transparency from the CDC about its conclusions.
 
     Many residents remain wary of drinking or cooking with the water, though the nine-county region is clear to use it.

Gov. Tomblin Makes Requests to FEMA, Small Business Administration Following Chemical Leak

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin Monday urged the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to modify the current federal Emergency Declaration to provide for Direct Funding Assistance to state and local government programs and eligible non-profit agencies in the nine counties affected by the Elk River chemical spill on January 9.
 
 “At the time of the Presidential Emergency Declaration, no one knew how long this assistance would be needed,” Gov. Tomblin said in a letter to the agency.

“The response to the Elk River chemical spill is ongoing and many of our agencies continue to work hard to recover from this spill. I urge FEMA to modify the current emergency declaration so eligible expenditures by our first responders, state and local governments and non-profit agencies can be reimbursed,” Tomblin noted in a statement also issued Monday.
 
As the current Emergency Declaration stands, public and non-profit agencies that have made expenditures to distribute supplies and meet the needs of those in the affected areas are presently denied access to Category B Emergency Protective Measures funding.

A modification to the current declaration would allow eligible applicants in the affected counties to receive FEMA support, including reimbursement.

Tomblin also requested assistance Monday from the Small Business Administration to expedite help for small businesses and eligible private, non-profit organizations.
 
“Businesses suffered revenue losses as a result of the West Virginia American Water’s DO NOT USE order in addition to local employees who lost wages,” Gov. Tomblin said in a letter to the organization. “This event caused significant disruption to businesses in the affected areas.”
 
Gov. Tomblin also noted in his letter to the Small Business Administration that even after water was restored, certain businesses and restaurants were required to cleanse their facilities in order to meet requirements set by local health departments.

Gov. Tomblin Unaware of Freedom Industries Donations

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin says he was unaware he received campaign checks from top executives at the company at the center of West Virginia’s chemical spill.
 
     The Democrat said he found about donations from two Freedom Industries executives from news articles Wednesday morning.
 
     J. Clifford Forrest, who runs Freedom’s parent company, gave Tomblin’s campaign $500 in 2011 and $500 in 2012. Dennis Farrell, another Freedom executive, gave $500 total to Tomblin in 2011.
 
     W.Va. Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito received $500 from Forrest last February for her current US Senate bid. US Sen. Joe Manchin received $1,000 from Forrest for his 2008 run for governor. Both are giving the money to West Virginia charities.
 
     The Freedom donations make up a sliver of the millions of dollars raised for each respective campaign.

State Senate Majority Leader: Governor's Bill Shields Chemical Industry

A West Virginia Senate leader thinks the governor’s proposal to prevent chemical spills caters to industry interests.
 

Senate Majority Leader John Unger says Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s bill doesn’t do enough to register and inspect above-ground storage tanks.
 
     Tomblin’s measure responds to Freedom Industries’ Jan. 9 spill, which contaminated the water supply for 300,000 people.
 
     Unger took issue with Tomblin’s bill on Tuesday because it regulates just above-ground tanks deemed too close to a water supply. It also would only regulate sites holding chemicals above a certain risk level.
 
     Unger is proposing regulation of all above-ground tanks.
 
     Unger says all of the state’s water needs to be protected. He says sites far from public water systems need to be regulated, since people in rural areas rely on wells using groundwater.

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