Last Thursday, I made a floor speech regarding Senate Bill 568. Most of you may recall that it was the day I drank coal slurry on the Senate floor. Why did I do it? I did it to show that this is a serious issue and a potential health hazard in our community. Water is one of the most basic needs that humans have. If a human is in a situation where access to water is unsafe, it has a major effect on how they live or whether they continue to live at all.
Coal slurry is the wastewater created after water is used to clean coal of impurities after it is mined. Some of the chemicals that compose coal slurry include aluminum, arsenic, mercury, chromium, lead, cadmium, boron, selenium and nickel.
Exposure to these chemicals has been proven to cause cancer, gastrointestinal problems and serious damage with the nervous system.We currently know that these chemicals are present in slurry injection sites, but it is currently unknown how much of each chemical is present and how extensive the harm may be to humans and wildlife.
Studies that have taken place in Rawls, which is in Mingo County, yielded samples with hazardous chemicals present. The amount of chemicals in these samples are exponentially higher than the standard the national government clarifies as safe water to drink.
There are 15 active coal slurry injection sites across the state, each affecting the local groundwater systems. All sites are within abandoned mines and all are near areas that could potentially harm citizens.
In 2007, former Senator Hunter and I introduced and the Legislature passed SCR 15, a study resolution, that required the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to gather and analyze water samples from injections sites throughout the state. The DEP has failed to report their findings through three deadlines.
Senate Bill 568 would force them to finally report those findings. Through Senate Bill 568, we can pressure the DEP to finish these reports in the quest to get a real answer in regards to how many toxins are lurking in these waters. It also would place a moratorium, or a delay, on any new permits for underground slurry injections or any modifications to existing slurry injection permits before the research is completed.
The bottle of coal slurry that I drank on the Senate floor is, sadly, too similar to what many citizens of West Virginians use to cook and drink every day. I can tell you from experience that it was rather disgusting to taste, but no one knows what kind of havoc this toxic water can cause internally with continued exposure.
With the completion of the reports from the DEP, we can take action to make a change to keep water safe for West Virginians.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
8 comments:
Wow. This shows real dedication to our environment and our state. It is a touching thing to see someone in Your position do something like this. I hope your protestations are appreciated and some measurable changes come to pass. It is indeed a problem we should remedy, but like most problems, is too often ignored. Your actions and this blog will hopefully bring it and others to light. Thank You, Senator White.
Thank you for your dedication! I can clearly see that you take your position seriously!
Thank you for your dedication! I can clearly see that you take your position seriously!
Perhaps the DEP is understaffed and the workers are underpaid like so many other departments in the WV government these days. Workers are all being asked to do much more and with no pay increase and many times no increase in personnel. Since you are serving on the Finance Committee, you can look into that.
I suspect that the DEP,like other departments in the WV government, is understaffed and underpaid. And I would wager that is why they didn't meet their deadlines on the report you required. As a public employee, I can tell you I cannot meet every deadline myself, as I am constantly asked to do more with less. I understand how important clean drinking water is, but as a senator, you should understand how hiring freezes and lack of pay increases are affecting productivity in WV these days.
B. Bragg, Clay
would like to know where the 15 active slurry injection sites are, also the sites, if any, that are no longer in use.
In addition to the overworked/underpaid issues, there's also a serious lack of training that accompanies new legislation. Before new laws, regulations, rules, etc., are mandated, there needs to be proper funding, manpower & training lined up to insure proper implementation. Rather than hiring freezes, the fat needs to be trimmed & the existing employees trained (or retrained) to fulfill the new responsiblities that are expected of them. There's a reason state employees are the butt of many jokes - there are plenty of them who lend a lot of truth to the punch lines.
I hope this website is used to let those of us "in the dark" know what's going on in the Legislature. I'm also in Clay County and rarely, if ever, are we privy to what's going on. We vote for the ones we think will do us the most good, then for the most part, they ignore us. Keep up the great work, Senator White!
Post a Comment