One Year Anniversary of the Elk River Chemical Leak

Media Advisory                                                                                             December 23, 2014

Contact:
Angie Rosser, WV Rivers Coalition, 304-437-1274 or arosser@wvrivers.org
Janet Keating, OVEC, 304-522-0246 or janet@ohvec.org
Cathy Kunkel, ASWS, 304-237-3802 or cathykunkel@gmail.com

What: One Year Anniversary of the Elk River Chemical Leak

Kick-off Events for January: A Month of Water

When/Where: January 9, 2015, events from 3 p.m. until 9 p.m. in and around the WV Culture Center on the State Capitol Grounds. All events are free of charge and open to the public, and are organized by active members of the WV Safe Water Roundtable.

3–5 p.m.:  Citizen Education Workshops at the WV Culture Center

Two 2-hour free workshops sponsored by the West Virginia Rivers Coalition that will inform everyone about clean water issues and give them the tools and support to get involved. The schedule:

— 3–3:15 Overview of WV Safe Water Roundtable

— 3:15–4:15 Citizen Advocacy Training

— 4:15–5:00 Water Policy Issues Update

5–6:15 p.m. Dignitary Remarks and Dinner at the WV Culture Center

Invited dignitaries include Sen. Joe Manchin III, Sen.-elect Shelley Moore Capito, Rep. David McKinley, Rep.-elect Alex Mooney, Rep.-elect Evan Jenkins, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, DEP Sec. Randy Huffman, Incoming Bureau for Public Health Commissioner Dr. Rahul Gupta, Sen. Bill Cole, Del. Tim Armstead, Charleston-area outgoing and incoming legislative members. Refreshments will be served.

6:30–7:15 p.m. Honoring the Waters Interfaith Vigil

One-Year Anniversary Candlelight Vigil at the Kanawha River in front of the WV State Capitol.

7:30–8 p.m. Reception, with Impacted Community Members Speaking and Music

In the WV Culture Center, vigil participants and filmgoers gather.

8–9 p.m. Screening of Elk River Blues Documentary

A world premiere of the documentary film by Mike Youngren features West Virginians’ response to systemic failures that continue to threaten our water. Film sponsored by the West Virginia Rivers Coalition and the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Charleston in the WV Culture Center Theater.

For more information:

Facebook page for January 9 candlelight vigil: https://www.facebook.com/events/576376669160371/

Facebook page for January: A Month of Water: https://www.facebook.com/events/755859164500031/

About a Month of Water

The events on January 9, held to mark the one year anniversary of the Elk River chemical leak, kick-off “January: A Month of Water.” Visit the “Events” tab at www.ourwaterwv.org for details on upcoming events.

About the WV Safe Water Roundtable

The chemical leak that contaminated the drinking water of nearly a sixth of the state’s population deeply distressed citizens around the state and nation about the safety of their drinking water. What resulted was a remarkable citizen-led effort to support reforms introduced at the state and federal level to strengthen protections of drinking water supplies. Out of this organizing work emerged the West Virginia Safe Water Roundtable, a coalition involving 28 organizations* committed to working together to ensure the availability of clean, safe water to sustain life and a vital economy in West Virginia.

*Organizations that have participated in the WV Safe Water Roundtable meetings over the past year include:

Advocates for a Safe Water System / Artists Working in Alliance to Restore the Environment (AWARE) / American Friends Service Committee / Aurora Lights / Citizens Actively Protecting the Environment / Covenant House / Fairness WV / Friends of Water / Healthy Kids and Families Coalition / Keepers of the Mountains / NAACP / OVEC – Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition / Our Children Our Future Campaign / People Concerned About Chemical Safety / Sierra Club / The Alliance for Appalachia / Unitarian Universalist Clean Water Task Force / WV Center for Budget and Policy / WV Citizen Action for Real Enforcement / WV Citizen Action Group / WV Clean Water Hub / WV Council of Churches /WV Environmental Council / WV FREE / WV League of Women Voters / WV Moms for “SAFE” Water / WV Rivers Coalition / WV Sustainable Business Council

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