March 20, 2009
Underground Injection of Coal Slurry Not Meeting Public Health Standards
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
Charleston, WV (HNN) – The Sludge Safety Project on Thursday, March 19, 2009 released a report that reveals slurry injected underground is not meeting Safe Drinking Water Act standards, the guidelines for any substance injected into groundwater in West Virginia.
The findings in the Citizens’ Report on Underground Sludge Injection are based on data from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, the United States Geological Survey and the US Environmental Protection Agency.
According to SSP coordinator Patricia Feeney, “There’s enough data here, now to say – ‘Enough. We are done pumping waste and poison into groundwater. We are done making people sick unnecessarily’.”
“The bottom line is that people are living near these injection sites,” said Chuck Nelson, a retired coal miner from Raleigh County and board member of the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition. “The DEP’s own records show that there are over 600 injection sites in the state. This is not about one county or one community. This is about our health and our future as West Virginians.”
“What we are doing today impacts every generation that follows us,” said Senator Randy White (D –Webster), who last week introduced SB528, legislation that would place a moratorium on underground coal slurry injection until it is proven safe.
“We need to have safe drinking water now and in the future,” White said. “Hopefully, we can take a reasonable course here in the Legislature by providing for a moratorium on slurry injection until the final word is given out by the Public Health Department that our waters are or are not safe.”
“Our Legislature has to hear this issue. In the Book that I read most often it says, ‘Like a tree standing by the water, we shall not be moved’,” said Rev. Dennis Sparks, Executive Director of the West Virginia Council of Churches, which endorses the bill.
“And folks in this room – and around the state – will not be moved away from this issue. We will stand fast and continue to challenge the Legislature on this whole issue of clean water.”
Nelson added, “We have an obligation to inform our fellow West Virginians and to protect our neighbors.”
Nelson called on Senator Greene (D-Raleigh), Chair of the Energy, Industry and Mining Committee to put Senate Bill 568 on the committee’s agenda.
The Sludge Safety Project is an effort of the Huntington-based Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, the Whitesville-based Coal River Mountain Watch, Concerned Citizens of Mingo County and Concerned Citizens of Prenter Road.
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Underground Injection of Coal Slurry Not Meeting Public Health Standards
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
Charleston, WV (HNN) – The Sludge Safety Project on Thursday, March 19, 2009 released a report that reveals slurry injected underground is not meeting Safe Drinking Water Act standards, the guidelines for any substance injected into groundwater in West Virginia.
The findings in the Citizens’ Report on Underground Sludge Injection are based on data from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, the United States Geological Survey and the US Environmental Protection Agency.
According to SSP coordinator Patricia Feeney, “There’s enough data here, now to say – ‘Enough. We are done pumping waste and poison into groundwater. We are done making people sick unnecessarily’.”
“The bottom line is that people are living near these injection sites,” said Chuck Nelson, a retired coal miner from Raleigh County and board member of the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition. “The DEP’s own records show that there are over 600 injection sites in the state. This is not about one county or one community. This is about our health and our future as West Virginians.”
“What we are doing today impacts every generation that follows us,” said Senator Randy White (D –Webster), who last week introduced SB528, legislation that would place a moratorium on underground coal slurry injection until it is proven safe.
“We need to have safe drinking water now and in the future,” White said. “Hopefully, we can take a reasonable course here in the Legislature by providing for a moratorium on slurry injection until the final word is given out by the Public Health Department that our waters are or are not safe.”
“Our Legislature has to hear this issue. In the Book that I read most often it says, ‘Like a tree standing by the water, we shall not be moved’,” said Rev. Dennis Sparks, Executive Director of the West Virginia Council of Churches, which endorses the bill.
“And folks in this room – and around the state – will not be moved away from this issue. We will stand fast and continue to challenge the Legislature on this whole issue of clean water.”
Nelson added, “We have an obligation to inform our fellow West Virginians and to protect our neighbors.”
Nelson called on Senator Greene (D-Raleigh), Chair of the Energy, Industry and Mining Committee to put Senate Bill 568 on the committee’s agenda.
The Sludge Safety Project is an effort of the Huntington-based Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, the Whitesville-based Coal River Mountain Watch, Concerned Citizens of Mingo County and Concerned Citizens of Prenter Road.
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