An industry-backed bill that would roll back state oversight of toxic chemical-containing aboveground storage tanks nearest to public water intakes is a vote away from passage in the West Virginia House of Delegates, having already been approved by the Senate.
The House Energy and Public Works Committee on Tuesday signed off on Senate Bill 592, which would exempt aboveground storage tanks closest to public water intakes from mandated evaluations and certifications while rolling back other water safety protection measures.
The House panel approved SB 592 despite fervent opposition from community and environmental advocates quick to note regulations the bill would weaken were adopted through the 2014 Aboveground Storage Tank Act in response to that January’s Elk River chemical leak that contaminated the water supply of 300,000 people.
The chemical that leaked was coal-processing agent 4-methylcychohexanemethanol (MCHM) via a leak from an aboveground storage tank at a Freedom Industries chemical storage and distribution facility in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä.
Since the 2014 leak, West Virginia lawmakers have relaxed other aboveground storage tank regulations, dramatically reducing how many tanks are regulated by the state Department of Environmental Protection.
The 2014 leak was a watershed moment for Delegate Evan Hansen, D-Monongalia, inspiring the founder of Morgantown-based environmental consulting firm Downstream Strategies to run for office.
Now an Energy and Public Works Committee member, Hansen spoke out against SB 592 prior to the panel approving it Tuesday.
“I don’t really see the reason for this bill,†Hansen said. “I don’t see why this Legislature should continue to chip away at the Aboveground Storage Tank Act, especially for tanks that are so close to our intakes. The Act has been working.â€
Repeated releases from firm that is ‘not a mom-and-pop’
The exemptions started a year after the Elk River spill, when the Legislature, in 2015, scaled back the Aboveground Storage Tank Act to only require inspection of tanks that contain either 50,000 gallons or more of hazardous material or are located within a zone of critical concern.
In 2017, the Legislature carved out an exemption for tanks outside zones of critical concern.
DEP Deputy Secretary Scott Mandirola indicated to the Energy and Public Works Committee Monday the number of tanks regulated under the state’s Aboveground Storage Tank Act had declined roughly 90% from more than 42,000 over the course of rollbacks enacted since then.
Gas and oil industry proponents of further rollbacks SB 592 would implement have contended aboveground storage tank act regulations have been onerous and unfairly target oil and gas operators since Freedom Industries was a chemical producer.
But the industry was responsible for nearly all 41 releases from tanks that SB 592 would exempt from January 2022 through January 2025, according to a Gazette-Mail review of DEP data it obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Of the 41 releases from tanks to be exempted under SB 592, 10 were from subsidiaries of Diversified Energy Company, the nation’s largest gas and oil well owner, with two more from Columbia Gas Transmission Corp., a subsidiary of TC Energy, a Canada-based energy gas pipeline giant.
“It’s not a small operator. It’s not a mom-and-pop. If they have enough money to sponsor WVU football, they should have enough money to properly inspect and maintain their tanks,†Hansen said, alluding to Diversified’s partnership with West Virginia University Athletics.
In June 2023, the West Virginia University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics announced a five-year extension through 2031 of a multiyear corporate partnership with Diversified, the “Official Energy Partner of WVU Athletics.â€
‘I don’t think it’s worth it’
The Energy and Public Works Committee made minor revisions to SB 592 that will require Senate concurrence.
“I don’t think it’s worth it to put our drinking water at risk. I don’t think it’s worth it to put our soil at risk. I don’t think it’s worth it to put any of it at risk,†Delegate Kayla Young, D-Kanawha, said in opposition to SB 592 prior to the committee’s vote.
No delegates spoke in favor of SB 592 during the committee’s meeting Tuesday.
Tanks to be exempted by SB 592 have a combined capacity of over 2.75 million gallons of brine, oil, gas, crude oil and other hydrocarbon mixtures, according to a Gazette-Mail review of DEP data.
“Don’t chip away at something that’s working,†Hansen said.
Mike Tony covers energy and the environment. He can be reached at mtony@hdmediallc.com or 304-348-1236. Follow @Mike__Tony on X.
