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Three Rivers Companies LLC, a developer who couldn't get water and sewage permits for an upscale housing development in Fayette County, is suing West Virginia, all 55 county commission presidents and health sanitarians in the 53 counties that have them.
Atlanta attorney William E. "Bo" Gray II, says he has discovered the state's dirty secret, with more than 160,000 households piping raw sewage into the state's waterways, and the state doing nothing about it.
The suit against the state is directed toward the Department of Environmental Protection and the Bureau for Public Health.
"It's kind of eye-opening. Jaw-dropping," Gray said.
A Freedom of Information request regarding the matter was received by the Calhoun County Commission, with commission president Bob Weaver responding by saying "The county does not hold any records responsive to your request."
The classification of stream quality and citations for any violation of the Clean Water Act are both matters under the jurisdiction of the WV Department of Environmental Projection, Weaver said.
The proposed suit says that counties by "aiding and abetting in this illegal conduct," is exposing hundreds of thousands of people to potentially serious health problems, endangering the environment and wildlife, and contaminating drinking water supplies.
"The diffuse pattern and practices that is going on in West Virginia...makes this an environmental and health issue of the first magnitude," says the claim, "In fact, it falls below the health standards adopted in most third-world countries."
Gray is acting on behalf of the embittered Three Rivers Companies LLC, a West Virginia company, and principal John Hosch of Cartersville, Ga. over the proposed high-scale development.
The company announced plans for the River Ridge at Kanawha Falls development near Fayette County's Glen Ferris in 2004.
That project is now in bankruptcy court, the builder is being sued by people who bought lots they couldn't build on.
The Three Rivers lawsuit will not seek damages other than legal fees, Gray said, demanding only that West Virginia comply with state and federal laws governing water pollution.
The notice gives the state 60 days to fix the problem.
The filings say state and county governments repeatedly have delegated and shirked their responsibilities under the 1972 Clean Water Act, and done nothing to prevent untreated sewage from going into 32 watersheds, reports the Charleston Gazette.
Gray admitted that fixing West Virginia's problems likely would cost billions of dollars.
In Hancock County, Weirton officials recently estimated it would take up to $6 million to repair the city's system, which had allowed raw sewage to stream into the Ohio River for 50 years.
Marion County Administrator Chris Cinalli said, "These projects are generally over tens or twenties of millions of dollars, and those kinds of resources really aren't available, so we kind of chip away at it a little at a time," saying Marion County has been working to extend city water and sewer lines into rural areas when money is available.
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