Necessary Improvements to SB 423 Aboveground Storage Tank Act

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Allied groups agree on the points below, all needed for SB 423. OVEC also adds:

Update: Best fix for SB 423? Ditch it.

Many people living in rural areas in West Virginia depend on groundwater for all our water uses. In areas where coal mining activities and shale gas production and waste “disposal” activities impact water, we must safeguard water. Any bill that is passed covering aboveground storage tanks should include monitoring and inspections of tanks that could threaten drinking water wells in rural areas. Tanks that are used for storing potable water would be an exception, of course.

We are concerned that section 22-30-14 of SB 423, misleadingly titled “Public access to information,” seeks to punish via jail members of the public who would disclose what’s in a tank that could be threatening our waterways. Limiting the public’s access to is dangerous; this information is vital to water utilities, emergency response teams, communities, and individuals for public health and safety and should be fully available.

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