West
Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin speaking at a press conference
following the Jan. 9 Elk River spill. (Photo via The Lincoln Journal)Seeking the opinions of 'stakeholders' for new proposed legislation meant to prevent future toxic chemical leaks like the January 9 Elk River spill, West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin invited a host of industry leaders and trade associations to weigh in.However, notably absent from the talks were any environmentalists or public health officials, according to an investigative report by the Charleston Gazette published Tuesday.
West Virginia journalist Ken Ward Jr. reports:
The West Virginia Chamber of Commerce was invited. So were the Oil and Gas Association and the Coal Association. Trade associations representing grocers, manufacturers, trucking firms and energy companies were included, according to the Governor's Office."If you want a bill that protects clean water, you should probably listen to people who advocate for clean water, not the polluters," said West Virginia Sierra Club leader Jim Kotcon at a public hearing Monday night.
But the chief lobbyist for the West Virginia Environmental Council — the environmental community's umbrella lobby group at the Capitol — said that his organization wasn't included in the governor's meeting.
"Neither I nor anyone else I know of in the environmental community knew about that meeting," Garvin said Monday. "You telling me about it is the first I've heard about that meeting."
At the same meeting, West Virginia Coal Association Vice President Chris Hamilton said that he and other industry leaders "stand ready to offer our resources and expertise" in crafting the legislation.
The Gazette learned of the Jan. 20 closed-door meeting through documents released in a Freedom of Information Act Request about the proposed legislation.
The bill reportedly creates a new regulatory program for aboveground chemical storage tanks—such as the Freedom Industries tanks from which 10,000 gallons of coal cleaning chemicals spilled into the regional water supply.
Also included in the documents were "email messages in which several prominent industry lawyers and lobbyists offered suggestions for the governor's legislation," Ward reports.
Both the governor's bill, introduced on Jan. 22, and one passed a week later by the state Senate included versions of those recommendations.
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Tomblin meeting on chemical tank bill excluded environmentalists
By Ken Ward Jr.CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Two weeks ago, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin held a news conference to announce his legislative response to the Elk River chemical leak. The governor unveiled proposed legislation aimed at creating a new regulatory program for aboveground chemical storage tanks.
"This proposed legislation includes reasonable, commonsense provisions to regulate aboveground storage tanks across the state, including those located in areas of critical concern near our public water supply and distribution systems," the governor said at the Jan. 20 news conference.
A day earlier, a select group of business lawyers and industry lobbyists met with the governor's staff and officials from the state Department of Environmental Protection to go over the governor's bill.
"See everyone there and please be prepared to discuss the bill section by section," Jason Pizatella wrote in an email message announcing the meeting.
Pizatella called the event a meeting "with the stakeholders."
The West Virginia Chamber of Commerce was invited. So were the Oil and Gas Association and the Coal Association. Trade associations representing grocers, manufacturers, trucking firms and energy companies were included, according to the Governor's Office.
But the chief lobbyist for the West Virginia Environmental Council -- the environmental community's umbrella lobby group at the Capitol -- said that his organization wasn't included in the governor's meeting.
"Neither I nor anyone else I know of in the environmental community knew about that meeting," Garvin said Monday. "You telling me about it is the first I've heard about that meeting."
Asked what discussions the environmental council had about the governor's bill prior to its unveiling at that news conference, Garvin said, "There were none."
Garvin said that environmental group lobbyists weren't asked by the Governor's Office for their input as the bill was developed, and had only brief, informal discussions with DEP officials prior to the legislation being introduced.
"I've had some just offhand discussions with DEP," Garvin said. "Other than that, we really weren't given an opportunity to just sit down and tell the DEP or the governor what we thought."
Pizatella's announcement of the "stakeholders" meeting, held at the state Lottery Commission building on Pennsylvania Avenue on a Sunday afternoon, was among the records released by the Governor's Office in response to a Freedom of Information Act request about the chemical tank legislation.
Also included were email messages in which several prominent industry lawyers and lobbyists offered suggestions for the governor's legislation -- before the bill was finalized Jan. 20 or introduced Jan. 22.
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