On the morning of January 9, 2014, the scent of licorice began to waft over Charleston and out of people’s water taps. By the days end, they would learn that an uninspected tank containing 10,000 gallons of the chemical MCHM had been leaking from it’s perch on a river bank. The chemicals seeped into the Elk River, 1.5 miles upstream from the drinking water intake for a nine county area.

The Governor called a state of emergency and ordered 300,00 people to shut off their taps for over 10 days. Bottled water was essential for everything but putting out fires. In the aftermath, the imperative to tighten regulations was debated, considered, and some new laws were written. But within months, a Republican sweep of the WV State Legislature, allowed industry demands and influence to dictate the slashing of new regulations before the ink was barely dry. With State regulations weakened, the only line of defense rests with the EPA - which in the Trump Administration has stripped away even more protective laws. This piece examines the impact of industry and the political choices that must be made to balance economic needs with environmental imperatives.

BACKSTORY

West Virginia’s once pristine air, water and land have inspired ballads and anthems. But for decades, the extractive industries have used the state as a dumping ground. Mountaintop removal mining, fracking for natural gas, and chemical spills pour toxins and heavy metals into the ecosystem, with profound consequences. A CDC study from 2017, ranked West Virginia’s state cancer rates as the third highest in the nation.

West Virginia’s rivers and streams course through the Appalachian Mountains. On the eastern continental divide, 5 rivers funnel toward the Potomac River, eventually flowing into the Chesapeake Bay. On the western side of this divide, waters move into the Ohio River, joining the Mississippi, and merging into the Gulf of Mexico in New Orleans. Toxins that enter West Virginia’s rivers and streams impact millions of people and wildlife downstream in the Southeastern portion of the United States.