Press Release

April 4, 2008

Contact:  Patricia Feeney, Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, 304-360-2110        

WV Citizens to DEP:  This is Not Good Enough
Sludge “Study” Not Fulfilling Legislative Mandate

CHARLESTON, W.VA. -- Citizens who lobbied legislators and won a DEP study of underground coal slurry injection believe the DEP is failing in its mandate to carry out the study.  

Tuesday (April 1), three representatives of the Sludge Safety Project met with officials from the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Health and Human Resources, and the Office of Surface Mining to express the group’s dissatisfaction with the lack of progress on the study.

“I am here because something is in my well,” Maria Lambert of Boone County told agency officials.  “If you all aren't going to test it, then please tell me what I need to do to get some attention to this.” 

During the 2006 legislative interims and the 2007 legislative session, the Sludge Safety Project led the effort to pass SCR-15, a state resolution mandating that the DEP and the DHHR research the impacts of the coal industry practice of injecting liquid coal waste, or slurry, underground.

In December of 2006, DEP Secretary Stephanie Timmermeyer told a legislative committee her agency did not need additional funding for the study, nor additional time. The DEP was supposed to complete the study and present its findings to the legislature by December 31, 2007.

“Here we are, sixteen months after the DEP supposedly began the study, and the state agency that claims to protect our environment has tested  three slurry underground  injection sites in the state,” said Patricia Feeney, Mingo County resident and coordinator of the Sludge Safety Project.  “We pushed for this study because we need to know the extent of the problem and if injecting sludge underground is making people sick. Three sites in the whole state are not enough.”

“Meanwhile, people are being poisoned,” said Lambert. “We need DEP to take this seriously and respond to people in a timely manner.”

Randy Huffman, director of DEP’s Division of Mining and Reclamation made a personal commitment to see the study through and to get the water tested in Lambert's area in Boone County. 

“We didn't expect it to be this big,” Huffman told Sludge Safety Project members. “We need more time and we are going to continue to look into this….As long as there are still questions to be answered and, I think there will be, there's nothing final about what we're doing here.”

But the Sludge Safety Project representatives reiterated concerns that the testing the DEP is conducting does not fulfill the requirements of SCR-15.  The group is concerned that DEP:

• is unjustifiably limiting the scope of the study to current injections, while ignoring slurry pumped underground before the agency had a slurry injection permitting process;
• is not fulfilling its responsibility to DHHR so that agency can determine the impacts of slurry on human health;  
• apparently does not intend to fulfill its responsibility for determining the impact of slurry on aquatic ecosystems;
• has neglected to set a timeline and request the necessary funding for the study, and 
• has no plans, nor date, for presenting its findings to the legislature.

“We have repeatedly alerted DEP to citizens’ concerns in regard to water contamination, but the agency is not prioritizing those concerns,” said Feeney. “We believe they are dragging their feet and diluting the study by marginalizing citizens concerns.  They have not requested more funding, but maintain that funding is an obstacle to fulfilling the study.”

 “The study is providing a lot of information and it’s causing us to ask more questions than it's getting answered,” Huffman added.  “And we’ve actually got some plans, already got some recommendations to do some follow up outside of the study.”

The Sludge Safety Project is a citizens’ coalition formed by the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, Coal River Mountain Watch, and Concerned Citizens of Mingo County.  The group offers support to communities which are concerned about black water and sludge impoundments.  SSP offers direct support and also works to improve community safety through better state policy.

For more information on the Sludge Safety Project, go to www.sludgesafety.org or contact 235-2618.

NOTE: Video tape of SSP’s meeting with DEP, DHHR and OSM is available upon request to Patricia Feeney at 304-360-2110.