ACTION ALERT — SAY NO to HB2598, New Exemptions to Aboveground Storage Tank Act

by admin on February 20, 2021

Above ground storage tanks need rules & regulations

Act Now: Protect Our Drinking Water and Reject HB 2598

Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition (OVEC) Action Alert, February 19, 2021

Action Alert Comments. … be sure to respond as soon as possible!

The WV Legislature and industry lobbyists have brought back the bill for exemptions to the Aboveground Storage Tank Act as HB 2598, reintroduced this week and expected to make the House Energy and Manufacturing Committee agenda on Tuesday morning, February 23.

Long story short, the bill would deregulate certain aboveground tanks that store hazardous oil and gas waste near public drinking water intakes. For a deeper dive and more information check out West Virginia Rivers’ Fact Sheet.

We need you to take action before the House committee meets at 9 a.m. on Tuesday!

WV Rivers has set up a tool to send all committee members an email, and we suggest also pairing that with a phone call to both the Committee and its Delegates. If you aren’t already on your cell phone, make the switch now so you can just click to dial!

Here’s the example script:

“Hello, my name is _________ and I’m calling to ask you to please say no to HB 2598. All citizens deserve access to safe, clean drinking water, and HB 2598 exempts certain oil and gas tanks closest to our public drinking water intakes from the Aboveground Storage Tank Act, which requires regular inspections and crisis response plans.

There is ample recent evidence of all that can go wrong with tanks upstream from public drinking water intakes here in West Virginia, which are precisely the tanks this bill would be deregulating. Exempting those tanks is reckless and dangerous to public health and safety.

Please say no to HB 2598.“

And below is who you can call on the House of Delegates Energy and Manufacturing Committee:

There are a lot of them. We suggest prioritizing delegates from your district or close-by, followed by the chairs and vice chairs.

Happy dialing, and stay warm out there!

-– Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition —

>>>>>…..>>>>>…..>>>>>…..>>>>>

Chair: Del. Bill Anderson: 304-340-3186; Vice Chair: Del. John R. Kelly: 304-340-3394

Minority Chair: Del. Ed Evans: 304-673-2969; Minority Vice Chair: Del. Dave Pethel: 304-775-5472

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Concerned Citizens February 20, 2021 at 3:06 pm

Here’s the example script from OVEC …….

Hello, my name is _________ and I’m calling to ask you to please say no to HB 2598. All citizens deserve access to safe, clean drinking water, and HB 2598 exempts certain oil and gas tanks closest to our public drinking water intakes from the Aboveground Storage Tank Act, which requires regular inspections and crisis response plans.

There is ample recent evidence of all that can go wrong with tanks upstream from public drinking water intakes here in West Virginia, which are precisely the tanks this bill would be deregulating. Exempting those tanks is reckless and dangerous to public health and safety.

Please say no to HB 2598.“

And here’s who you call on the House of Delegates Energy and Manufacturing Committee:

There are a lot of them. We suggest prioritizing delegates from your district or close-by, followed by the chairs and vice chairs. The first five of y’all to show us your call logs will win some OVEC swag in the mail. Send ’em via social media or reply to this email.

Happy dialing, and stay warm out there!

– Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Chair: Del. Bill Anderson: 304-340-3186
Vice Chair: Del. John R. Kelly: 304-340-3394

Minority Chair: Del. Ed Evans: 304-673-2969
Minority Vice Chair: Del. Dave Pethel: 304-775-5472

Del. Brent Boggs: 304-364-8411
Del. Jordan Bridges: 304-340-3297
Del. Adam Burkhammer: 304-340-3123
Del. Roy Cooper: 304-340-3119
Del. Phillip W. Diserio: 304-340-3367
Del. Dana Ferrell: 304-340-3194
Del. Dianna Graves: 304-340-3392
Del. Evan Hansen: 304-340-3125
Del. Joshua Higginbotham: 304-340-3118
Del. John Paul Hott: 304-340-3399
Del. Joe Jeffries: 304-340-3113
Del. Phil Mallow: 304-340-3331
Del. John Mandt Jr.: 304-340-3176
Del. Zack Maynard: 304-340-3152
Del. Tony Paynter: 304-340-3163
Del. Chris Phillips: 304-340-3398
Del. Charlie Reynolds: 304-340-3151
Del. Johnnie Wamsley: 304-340-3199
Del. Steve Westfall: 304-340-3140
Del. Kayla Young: 304-340-3362
Del. Mark Zatezalo: 304-340-3120

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