There will be a press conference held at the Capital in Charleston tomorrow at 1:00 pm.   The goal is to have a VERY large crowd to request that the Governor revisit the Marcellus Shale Issue.   Anyone who can possibly attend, please go!    It will be held in the Government Organization Committee Room on the House of Delegates side of  the Rotunda.   Go to the front desk for directions.   This might be a last chance to put pressure on the Governor for regulations.   Without regulations, we should have a moratorium!    It is very sad that the legislators  were unable to agree on anything.   Please attend and let your voice be heard!!  Also, please pass this message along to anyone and everyone you know who cares about protecting West Virginia!!!

Source : Charleston Gazette

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia regulators plan to propose 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.

State Department of Environmental Protection officials unveiled their proposal during a meeting Wednesday in Charleston, and plan to issue it formally for public comment early next month.

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.

“This is proactive to keep West Virginia waters suitable for consumption by our citizens and use by our industries,” said Pat Campbell, an assistant director in the DEP Division of Water and Waste Management.

DEP officials have been considering the proposal for more than a year already. Their studies were prompted by TDS problems that brought complaints about unpleasant odors and tastes in drinking water drawn from the Monongahela River in the fall of 2008. Then last fall, a massive fish kill in Dunkard Creek along the West Virginia-Pennsylvania border was blamed at least in part on TDS pollution.

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Title: Office of Oil and Gas Program Review

Location: Cooper’s Rock Training Room at DEP Headquarters in Charleston

Description: The next Office of Oil and Gas Program Review meeting will be held Wednesday, July 28, 2010 from 9:30 AM to 3:00 PM (EST). If you plan to attend or would like to make a presentation, you should contact Kristin Boggs at the DEP : Kristin.A.Boggs@wv.gov or James Martin, Chief of Oil and Gas : James.A.Martin@wv.gov by email by July 21, a week ahead of time, so they can have a “head” count of who is attending and modify the agenda if there is time for your presentation.

Agenda:

• Welcome – Deputy Secretary Lisa McClung
• Ba Rea – Indian Creek Watershed Association & SavetheWaterTable.org
• Ray Renaud – Wetzel County Action Group
• Frank Jernejcic – West Virginia Division of Natural Resources
• Mike Stratton – WVDEP, Division of Water & Waste Management

Start Time: 09:30

Date: July 28, 2010

End Time: 12:30