Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Bluefield, WV

Latest Updates

Discussion

March 8, 2013

Unanimous W.Va. House votes to weaken EPA standard

Associated Press

CHARLESTON — A unanimous House of Delegates wants West Virginia to set its own safety standards for a substance that ends up in state waters from coal mining.

The Department of Environmental Protection would study and develop selenium guidelines under the bill sent to the Senate on Friday.

Studies have found this naturally occurring element harmful to aquatic life, and to humans with high-level exposure. 

Bill supporters argue the federal standards are overly restrictive. They say West Virginia’s fast-moving streams can tolerate higher selenium levels than slow-moving rivers and stagnant lakes. 

But if the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rejects the standards set by West Virginia, it could end up in court.

The EPA has been revising its standards since 2004 and says it should have them by the end of the year.

Text Only
Latest Updates
AP Video
Tornadoes, Storms Strike Midwest 'Babyland': Camp Lejeune's Toxic Legacy? Raw: Heavy Tornado Damage in Shawnee, Okla Probe Begins After Conn. Commuter Trains Crash NTSB Begins Investigation Into Conn. Train Crash Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools $1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids Raw: Bear Falls From Tampa Tree Ousted IRS Chief: Errors Not Caused by Politics Terror Suspect Due in Court in Idaho Friday Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge Could Tobacco Be the Next Biofuel? Wash. State Releases Draft Rules for Legal Pot
Business Marquee
College Sports
Pro Sports
Facebook