Claiming the public deserves the
truth, state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said he’s planning an
investigation into the chemical leak that’s left thousands of West
Virginians without usable tap water for almost a week.
“One of our primary concerns will
be that West Virginians have answers to their
questions about what happened, why it happened, and how this could have been
prevented,” Morrisey said Tuesday.
“We need to make sure this never
happens again and that responsible parties are held accountable.”
The investigation will include
interviews with state officials, along with those with West Virginia American
Water Company and Freedom Industries, the source site for the crude MCHM
(4-methylcyclohexane methanol), a chemical that seeped into the Kanawha Valley
Water Treatment Plant. That leak prompted last Thursday’s do-not-use water
order in parts of nine counties.
Booth Goodwin, the U.S. Attorney
for West Virginia
On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Jay
Rockefeller (D-W.Va) called on the Environmental Protection Agency and the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct a study of the long-term
public health risks associated with crude MCHM. Officials said little is known about
the long-term effects the chemical can have on humans.
The U.S. Senate Environment and
Public Works Committee will hold hearings on the Charleston
Second District Congresswoman
Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) said U.S. House
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) has
agreed to schedule a field hearing in Charleston
At the State Capitol, Senate
Majority Leader John Unger (D-Berkeley) said members of the Joint
Legislative Oversight Commission on State Water Resources, a group he
co-chairs, would conduct a full review of the chemical leak.
So far, at least 19 lawsuits
connected to the chemical spill have been filed in West Virginia
WVAW officials could not say on Tuesday when the do-not-use
order would be lifted for all of the company’s customers in the nine affected
counties.
