The state House of Delegates
Judiciary Committee took its first look Thursday night at a new version of a
bill that responds to the Jan. 9 chemical leak on the Elk
River and the water emergency that followed.
The detailed bill replaces the
version the state Senate passed a few weeks ago. House Judiciary Committee
chairman Tim Manchin (D-Marion) told delegates several hours would be spent
working on the bill Friday and Sunday.
Robert Williams (D-Taylor), who
explained the bill to fellow committee members Thursday, said the first part
calls for the state Bureau of Public Health to work with water utilities to
update their source-water protection plans.
“Where they have a good handle on
all of the contaminants that could be potentially affecting their systems,”
Williams said.
The protection plans deal with both
surface and ground water.
The second section of the bill
creates regulations for above-ground storage tanks, and Williams said the third
section calls for additional protections in the zone of critical concern where
water utilities are drawing their water.
