WV DEP Proposes State Water Quality Standard

West Virginia Public Broadcasting
21 May 2010
By Ben Adducchio

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection released its plans at a public meeting Wednesday to create new water quality standards in state streams.

It’s a victory for many who say they want to keep the state’s waterways from being polluted and are concerned about water quality.

The proposed rule would limit levels of "total dissolved solids" (TDS) like salt, minerals and metals dissolved in the water to the same value standard set in nearby Pennsylvania.

That standard is 500 milligrams per liter.

These solids can get into waterways through coal mining discharges and natural gas drilling.

Scott Mandirola is the Director of Water and Waste Management of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.

He says levels of total dissolved solids above the proposed standard can cause many problems.

“It can cause odor problems in water, when it gets up a certain level. It can cause problems with water heaters,” Mandirola said.

“There’s a host of things that TDS can cause problems with as far as human health is concerned.”

Last September, a fish kill occurred at Dunkard Creek, a stream in Monongalia County.

The DEP pointed to a golden algae bloom as the culprit.

Environmental Protection Agency officials and the Pennsylvania DEP say mining discharges from nearby Consol Energy coal operations created the conditions for the algae to bloom.

Mandirola says the DEP had been considering implementing a TDS standard before the kill.

“That added to the already compiling evidence that a TDS standard was needed in West Virginia waters,” he said.

The fish kill stunned local members of the community.

One of them is Jesse Graham who discovered dead fish around his barn at the beginning of the fish kill.

Graham says he’s happy a standard could be put in place soon.

“Our water is very precious. And I’m concerned there isn’t enough concern about maintaining water quality,” he said.

“It’s getting a lot of attention, and I think that’s well-deserved.”

Betty Wiley is president of the Dunkard Creek Watershed Association.

She says a new standard in West Virginia is a victory for citizens in the watershed.

But she says it’s only the start.  If it’s implemented it has to be enforced.

“I think everybody’s trying to do the right thing. They have to keep doing the right thing, they can’t slip up, they can’t go backwards, and we’ll be watching,” she said.

During the last two regular legislative sessions in Charleston, a bill that would set a standard for total dissolved solids in West Virginia failed to pass.

The DEP plans to issue the proposed standard for public comment in early June.

Graham and Wiley say they both plan to submit comments on the proposal.