| By Bob Weaver
There are serious rumblings around the the West Virginia capitol about delaying and watering down water bill SB 373, the Above Ground Storage Tank bill which passed in response to the Freedom Industries chemical spill that affected the public water of 300,000 West Virginians, causing the state to spend millions in clean up costs.
The company, which has declared bankruptcy, was fined $11,000.
The rusty storage tanks, according to a more recent report, were not inspected during the last three decades.
"When we compare ourselves to other states, it's clear that we have much more work to do," according to Dr. Rahul Gupta, executive director of the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department. He pointed back to Jan. 9, and the way the public discovered the water system had been compromised. "Remember, this was an event in which people called the water company to tell them that their water was contaminated. Emergency responders at the local and state levels called the water company to tell them perhaps their water was contaminated. That can't happen again."
House Speaker Miley and Senate President Kessler are urging the governor to call a special session during the Interims in September to revise certain parts of the bill.
The WV Sierra Club says there is no reason to delay the issue related to public health and safety and open up the bill to possible weakening by industries that want to be exempt from the law.
The bill was strenuously negotiated, passed by both houses unanimously to overwhelming public support and was lauded by the Governor Tomblin shortly after the environmental calamity.
Now, after the crisis is over, it will likely be revised.
Legislative leaders are arguing that the delay is needed to prevent "uncertainty [for] affected industries and the families that rely on them for employment," that its passage will harm the industry.
In addition to the contaminated water consequences, the spill cost businesses $61 million, according to a preliminary economic impact study, with the state's clean-up costs (taxpayers) in the multi-millions.
| 
