All Knowledge & Insights By Date

On April 3, 2014, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW Committee) marked up S.1961, the "Chemical Safety and Drinking Water Protection Act." Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chair of the EPW Committee, and Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) introduced the bill following the January 9, 2014, chemical spill in West Virginia that left thousands without drinking water for days. The bill would amend the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) by adding "Part...

On March 8, 2014, the West Virginia legislature passed S.B. 373, a bill to improve the safety and regulation of above ground storage tanks in the state. The bill resulted from the spill on January 9, 2014, of 7,500 gallons of a coal processing chemical, 4-methylcyclohexane methanol, stored in an above-ground tank into the Elk River just upstream from the local water utility's intake pipe serving Charleston, West Virginia. Regulators banned residents' use of the...

On February 10, 2014, the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure convened a field hearing in Charleston, West Virginia, on "The Charleston, West Virginia Chemical Spill." On January 9, 2014, a coal processing chemical, 4-methylcyclohexane methanol (MCHM), stored in an aboveground tank owned by Freedom Industries leaked into the Elk River in West Virginia. The leak compromised the water supply to nine counties in the state affecting some 300,000 residents. Due to a...

On February 10, 2014, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure is scheduled to hold a field hearing in Charleston, West Virginia, to examine the effects of and response to the January 9, 2014, chemical spill into the Elk River. More information on the hearing is available online....

On February 4, 2014, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works' Subcommittee on Water and Wildlife held a hearing on "Examination of the Safety and Security of Drinking Water Supplies Following the Central West Virginia Drinking Water Crisis." A full list of witnesses is available online. Senator Mark Udall (D-CO) spoke at the hearing and stressed the need for reform of TSCA in the wake of the January 9, 2014, chemical spill in West...

The January 9, 2014, chemical spill in which 7,500 gallons of a coal processing chemical, 4-methylcyclohexane methanol, stored in an above-ground tank owned by Freedom Industries leaked into the Elk River upstream from the local water utility's intake pipe serving Charleston, West Virginia, has prompted new calls for chemical safety and security legislation. For instance, concerns have been expressed about the adequacy of information regarding chemical safety and health risks, an issue that...

On January 9, 2014, 7,500 gallons of a coal processing chemical, 4-methylcyclohexane methanol, stored in an above-ground tank owned by Freedom Industries leaked into the Elk River just upstream from the local water utility's intake pipe serving Charleston, West Virginia. Regulators banned residents' use of the water for five days. Since the release, concerns have been expressed about the adequacy of information regarding the chemical's safety and health risks, an issue that has been...