(WV) Environmentalists unhappy with state fracking bill

The Times West Virginian
March 15, 2014
Environmentalists unhappy with state fracking bill
By Sarah Plummer Associated Press
Sat Mar 15, 2014, 02:55 AM EDT

CHARLESTON — Environmentalists raised concerns about a bill that won final passage Friday in the West Virginia Legislature that would overturn caps on how much drilling waste several landfills can accept from hydraulic fracturing.

The bill, approved overwhelmingly in a special session and now sent to the governor, would allow so-called tonnage caps to be lifted for drilling waste at seven landfills that are continuing to pursue a permit to build separate areas for drilling waste. The bill also mandates that the state Department of Environmental Protection, or DEP, monitor the sites for radioactivity and conduct a study on leaching.

The seven landfills are located in the state’s Northwest Region and Northern Panhandle.

Del. Stephen Skinner, who voted against the bill passed Friday, called it “a Band-Aid on a very serious problem.”

- See more at: http://www.timeswv.com/westvirginia/x1984788481/Environmentalists-unhappy-with-state-fracking-bill#sthash.Op3ahmT5.dpuf