Sens. Ben Cardin, D-Md., chairman of the Water and Wildlife subcommittee, and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif, chairwoman of the Environment and Public Works committee, spoke at a hearing Tuesday on the West Virginia water contamination crisis. Sophia Bollag/Medill
WASHINGTON – Sen. Jay Rockefeller Tuesday blamed inadequate federal regulations for the recent water contamination crisis that left hundreds of thousands of residents in his home state of West Virginia without safe water for at least three weeks.
“Regulation is soft in West Virginia,” the Democratic senator said at a Senate Subcommittee on Water and Wildlife hearing.
On Jan. 9, a chemical spill contaminated water in Charleston, W. Va., and nine surrounding counties. Residents were unable to use the public water supply for drinking, showering, washing their hands and other basic purposes. Thousands of gallons of the coal-processing chemical MCHM leaked into the water support from the chemical company Freedom Industries
Erik Olson, senior strategic director for health and food at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said better regulation was needed to prevent similar spills all over the country.
“There are likely hundreds of other water utilities, large and small, using surface water that simply cannot deal with a significant spill, release or other major pollution in their watershed,” he said in his testimony.
West Virginia Secretary of State Natalie Tennant said conflicting information about the safety of the water has residents worried.
“West Virginians need answers now,” she said. “Too many West Virginians are wondering if their water is really safe.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week told residents the water was safe to drink, but then revised its statement the next day, advising pregnant women not to drink the water. As recently as Friday, water at several schools in the area tested positive for elevated levels of the chemicals, and officials in the state are still providing residents with bottled water.
At the start of the hearing, several senators said a water safety bill introduced last week would help prevent future spills. The bill, sponsored by Rockefeller and Sens. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., would tighten federal regulation of water storage facilities.
The bill is getting quick committee action, with final review of the language scheduled for later this week.
Richard O. Faulk, a partner at the law firm Hollingsworth LLP, which represents large companies, said he believes the bill introducing federal regulations is premature and should not be passed before legislation can be enacted at the state level. He cited a bill already before the West Virginia legislature to address problems raised by the chemical spill.
“Federal intervention may be unnecessary,” Faulk said in his testimony. “A ‘one size fits all’ approach might even reduce safety by preempting broader, more effective, or uniquely tailored programs that are already working.”
