House of Delegates passes bill that would allow reclassification, lower quality standards for some West Virginia waterways

CHARLESTON, WV (WOAY) – A bill that would allow energy companies and other outside entities to petition the Department of Environmental Protection to change the classification of waterways that are not used as a public water supply has overwhelmingly passed the House of Delegates.

A significant number of rivers and streams in West Virginia are designated as Category A. That category is defined by EPA water quality standards. Rivers and streams that are under that category should not have pollution levels that are unsafe for human consumption.

If House Bill 2233 passes the Senate and is signed into law, that categorization could be removed from a waterway if sufficient evidence is submitted showing the waterway is unable to support a public water supply.

With that recategorization, the waterway would be permitted to have increased pollution levels.

Here’s the full text of the bill:

The bill passed the House of Delegates by a margin of 82 to 14. And here’s how it voted:

Delegate Elliott Pritt, a Republican delegate representing portions of Fayette County, was one of the delegates voting against the bill. In an emailed statement, he told us that ongoing pollution in his district makes him unwilling to vote for a bill that could decrease water quality standards.

“The district I represent has three failing Public Service Districts that cannot provide reliable clean water or sewer service in my district of Fayette County. I have the largest EPA superfund clean-up site in the whole state in my district in Minden that has poisoned people and water in that area. And I have the state’s largest prison—Mt. Olive Correctional Complex—still discharging all of its raw sewage straight into Smither’s Creek and into the Kanawha River since August of 2022,” Pritt said. “The idea of me voting for any bill that could lead to a decrease in water quality standards flies in the face of the reality that many of the people I represent deal with on a daily basis when it comes to water quality in their homes, at their jobs, or on their own personal property.”

Pritt said the tourism industry in Fayette County and beyond includes rafting companies that rely on clean water.

His full statement can be read at the bottom of this article.

Under the framework laid out in HB 2233, a waterway designated as Category A can be recategorized if an organization presents evidence that shows “surface waters are without the capacity or are of limited capacity to reliably and continually support the public water supply use.”

That evidence includes confirmation that the body of water is not being used for public water supply, people living in the area use an alternative source of water, and the current supply is enough to accommodate “reasonably anticipated future growth.”

The downstream effects also have to be considered.

Any proposed removal would need to be subject to a 45 day public comment period, a public hearing, and EPA approval.

We reached out to local delegates who voted to pass the bill and will update you when we hear back.

Here’s Delegate Pritt’s full statement:

“I voted no on HB 2233 because the district I represent has three failing Public Service Districts that cannot provide reliable clean water or sewer service in my district of Fayette County. I have the largest EPA superfund clean-up site in the whole state in my district in Minden that has poisoned people and water in that area. And I have the state’s largest prison—Mt. Olive Correctional Complex—still discharging all of its raw sewage straight into Smither’s Creek and into the Kanawha River since August of 2022. I also have a very large part of the New River Gorge National Park and several Whitewater Rafting companies that rely on the water in our rivers being clean in order to provide a positive tourism experience for people visiting our state and Fayette County.

The idea of me voting for any bill that could lead to a decrease in water quality standards flies in the face of the reality that many of the people I represent deal with on a daily basis when it comes to water quality in their homes, at their jobs, or on their own personal property.

I cannot vote for something that could potentially make their situation worse. Not only are the optics of it bad for me as a representative of Fayette County, the reality of it is bad as well. I had to vote ‘no’.”