WV DEP Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

DEP Accepting Applications For Spring Highway Cleanup Volunteers

The Department of Environmental Protection is accepting volunteers for the state’s spring highway cleanup later this month.

The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is accepting volunteers for the state’s spring highway cleanup later this month.

The Adopt-A-Highway litter cleanup program is scheduled for April 29. It’s open to individuals and families, as well as churches, businesses, schools and civic organizations.

It’s organized by the DEP’s Rehabilitation and Environmental Action Plan (REAP) to “save taxpayers money by increasing public awareness and to serve as an educational tool by focusing on the consequences which result when littering is allowed to continue unchecked,” according to the program’s web page.

Volunteers can sign up to help pick up trash on any state-maintained road, back road or main route. The program will provide garbage bags, work gloves and safety vests and will dispose of all trash collected by volunteers.

Last year, 2,700 individual volunteers signed up for the spring cleanup, with 68,350 pounds of litter removed from state roads.

Groups can register by calling 1-800-322-5530 or emailing dep.aah@wv.gov by April 21. If a voicemail is reached, REAP tells volunteers to leave their name, phone number, group name, date of cleanup, number of participants and the county in which the road is located.

Individuals must be 12 years old or older to volunteer.

W.Va. Water Infrastructure Gains $80 Million In Federal EPA Funding

The money comes as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed into law last year by the Biden administration. It adds to the $25 million awarded earlier this year to the state’s Drinking Water and Clean Water Revolving Funds.

More than $80 million in federal funding is coming to West Virginia’s water infrastructure from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The funding is set to be sent to local water systems across the state to help with services like repairs, replacing lead service lines and getting rid of contaminants and pollution.

It’s part of a $50 billion package, which the EPA is using to help local communities’ water systems across the country.

In an email to West Virginia Public Broadcasting, Terry Fletcher of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) said “the number of communities that receive funding from this program depends on which communities apply and complete the process.”

The WVDEP oversees the Clean Water State Revolving Fund.

A use plan document from the state’s Office of Environmental Health Services says it intends to use the current funds from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund to fund 29 statewide projects.

This also comes after the U.S. Geological Survey detected at least one kind of “forever chemical,” known as PFAS, in 67 of West Virginia’s drinking water systems. These are synthetic chemicals that don’t break down in the environment and endanger human health.

This is the first round of money to be awarded to the state’s water infrastructure in the long-term future. The federal infrastructure law is set to provide more grants to West Virginia during the next four years.

Residents Warned Against Recreation Along Parts Of Kanawha River

Flooding rains Sunday night into early Monday washed out at least 2.5 miles of the Kanawha Falls Public Service District's sewage collection system, which serves the Mount Olive Correctional Center.

Flooding rains Sunday night into early Monday washed out at least 2.5 miles of the Kanawha Falls Public Service District’s (PSD) sewage collection system, which serves the Mount Olive Correctional Center. This disruption has the potential to allow raw sewage to discharge directly into the river.

According to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the advisory covers 10 miles of the river from the correctional facility to the London Locks and Dam. It will remain in effect until further notice.

People should avoid water contact recreation activities in the affected area, such as swimming, fishing, water skiing and certain types of pleasure boating in smaller craft.

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) said this does not affect drinking water and no boil water advisories have been issued at this time.

The Kanawha Falls PSD notified the DEP of the problem with the sewage collection system through the state’s Emergency Spill Line. The PSD’s upset provision allows discharge into waters of the state until the sewer line is repaired. Emergency measures are currently being implemented to restore some level of treatment as quickly as possible and local downstream water intakes have been notified.

The WVDEP, DHHR, the West Virginia Emergency Management Division, and the Kanawha Falls PSD are working together to identify any additional damage to the sewage system and determine a temporary solution. Major repairs to local infrastructure will need to be made before the sewer line is permanently replaced.

Portable toilets have been installed at the prison to minimize additional sewage.

Judge Sides With Union Carbide In Lawsuit Over Water Pollution From South Charleston Landfill

A federal judge in Charleston has ruled in favor of Union Carbide in a lawsuit.

In a 90-page decision published Monday, Senior U.S. District Court Judge John Copenhaver denied an application for a temporary restraining order by the Courtland Co.

Courtland is suing Union Carbide over pollution from an industrial landfill in South Charleston into two streams near property both companies own. The court’s decision means the company won’t be required to take immediate action to stop water pollution from the landfill.

Courtland’s attorneys filed the request in February. They also filed a lawsuit alleging the site was in violation of the federal Clean Water Act.

“The main goal is to get a judge to order Union Carbide to stop polluting the people of South Charleston, and polluting my client’s property,” attorney Mike Callaghan said in February. He represents Courtland in the suit.

Copenhaver held a three-day hearing on Courtland’s request in late February and early March.

Union Carbide argued that the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection should oversee the case, not federal regulators.

In his decision, Copenhaver agreed.

State officials in October issued a violation against Union Carbide under the West Virginia Water Pollution Control Act based on evidence that the landfill was polluting the streams. The company appealed, and a hearing is set for May 13.

Courtland has filed a total of three lawsuits against Union Carbide since 2018 over the South Charleston industrial landfill.

W.Va. DEP Looking for Impaired Waterways Data

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection is compiling water quality data on the state’s streams and lakes. The agency is accepting additional information for analysis through October.

The DEP is collecting water quality data for a report that lists impaired waters in the state. The Clean Water Act requires this water quality report be submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency every two years.

In addition to data collected by agency personnel, the DEP will also be assessing water quality statistics collected by watershed associations, and other organizations as well as other state and federal agencies. The deadline to submit data is October 27, 2017.

Currently 1,105 bodies of water in the state are listed as impaired, including 11,674 acres of lakes and 5,298 miles of streams. Areas most impaired are throughout watersheds that stretch through central and south-western regions of the state.

Water quality data collected in West Virginia from July 1, 2012, through June 30, 2017 can be sent to Chris.A.Daugherty@wv.gov or Stephen.A.Young@wv.gov. A data submission form is also available for download.

Documentation that describes data collection and analysis details will help the agency assess the quality of the submitted results. If the data was subject to a quality assurance/quality control plan, that should be submitted with the water quality data. In a release, DEP noted that submitted water quality data that does not meet quality assurance/quality control guidelines won’t be considered.

Any non-electronic submissions can be sent to the Division of Water and Waste Management, Attn: Steve Young, 601 57th St. S.E., Charleston, WV 25304.

W.Va. DEP Offers Carbon Emission Reduction Feasibility Study

West Virginia’s Department of Environmental Protection has submitted a feasibility study to West Virginia lawmakers. The study focused on the state’s ability to meet proposed federal carbon emission regulations, and it was required by state law.

The DEP study is a comprehensive analysis of the potential effects the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan could have on West Virginians and the state economy. It was mandated by a 2015 law that also says lawmakers must give West Virginia’s plan to meet the emission reductions rules final approval before it’s sent to the EPA.

DEP analysis indicates that ultimately, compliance is feasible from an economic standpoint, and that further analysis is needed to know how to proceed. The report explains that key contributing factors to the plan’s feasibility include natural gas displacing coal in the energy market, and the possibility of regionally trading Emission Rate Credits.

The study also indicates that while West Virginia is not actively engaged in preparing a state plan to comply with the federal rule, officials intend to communicate with other states to come up with a regional approach to reduced emissions. This despite the fact that implementation of the Clean Power Plan is currently held up in litigation.