Tomblin: State of Emergency to End Soon

West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin says he’s days away from lifting a state of emergency over last month’s chemical spill into a public water supply.

Tomblin told reporters Tuesday that “in the next several days” he hopes to end the state of emergency, which has lasted almost 41 days. Tomblin said he let the emergency declaration continue partially because of the chemical’s lingering odor from some taps and showers.
 
Tomblin said ending the emergency status would not affect his appeal for more federal assistance for nonprofits and agencies that responded to the crisis. FEMA initially rejected Tomblin’s application for individual reimbursement for spill responders, who provided and distributed water and resources.
 
The Jan. 9 spill contaminated 300,000 residents’ water for days. Many will still only use bottled water.