By Erin Beck, The Register-Herald
Charleston – A year ago, the state’s Department of Environmental Protection proposed new limits on the amount of certain pollutants that cause human health effects, including cancer, permitted in West Virginia rivers and streams.
But during the recent legislative session, West Virginia manufacturers convinced lawmakers to postpone enacting the new limits.
During a public meeting Tuesday, Laura Cooper, assistant director of the DEP’s Division of Water and Waste Management, described plans to start the process of updating water quality standards once again.
Rebecca McPhail, president of the West Virginia Manufacturers Association, was listening by phone.
Six months ago, she asked a group of West Virginia lawmakers, the legislative rule-making review committee, to hold off on implementing new water quality standards until state-specific information could be gathered …
