Friday, May 21, 2010
DEP Unveils Water Quality Proposal
WEST VIRGINIA....
During a meeting this week in Charleston, West Virginia State Department of Environmental Protection officials unveiled a proposal for a new water quality standard aimed at least in part at protecting state rivers and streams from pollution created by large-scale natural gas drilling. The DEP proposal would set a legal limit for "total dissolved solids," or TDS, of 500 milligrams per liter. It would apply in-stream to waterways statewide, making it more stringent than the existing standard in Pennsylvania, which applies a 500-milligram-per-liter standard only at the intake pipes for public drinking water systems. The DEP also announced plans to propose a weakening of the state's legal limit for iron in trout streams, from 0.5 parts per million to 1.0 parts per million. The proposals will be subject to a 45-day public comment period, and officials hope to submit them for consideration by lawmakers during the 2011 legislative session. They must receive EPA approval before taking effect.
During a meeting this week in Charleston, West Virginia State Department of Environmental Protection officials unveiled a proposal for a new water quality standard aimed at least in part at protecting state rivers and streams from pollution created by large-scale natural gas drilling. The DEP proposal would set a legal limit for "total dissolved solids," or TDS, of 500 milligrams per liter. It would apply in-stream to waterways statewide, making it more stringent than the existing standard in Pennsylvania, which applies a 500-milligram-per-liter standard only at the intake pipes for public drinking water systems. The DEP also announced plans to propose a weakening of the state's legal limit for iron in trout streams, from 0.5 parts per million to 1.0 parts per million. The proposals will be subject to a 45-day public comment period, and officials hope to submit them for consideration by lawmakers during the 2011 legislative session. They must receive EPA approval before taking effect.
# posted by Homer Owens @ 11:18 AM 
