West Virginia Legislative Maneuvers Disregard Water Quality

The West Virginia legislature has introduced two new bills that would loosen coal mining rules. If passed, the legislation would undermine the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s water quality standards for coal mining permits, resulting in far-reaching impacts on the state’s waterways.

Under the bills, mining companies would be shielded from many citizen lawsuits regarding water quality, including litigation based on selenium violations. These types of lawsuits have been successful in recent years.