Learn when permits to control pollution are open for comment in
your county, or anywhere in WV
Find
amount & type of water pollution discharged at sites
near you
Report
water pollution which you see, by email or US mail: DEP Enforcement, 601
57th Street SE, Charleston WV 25304
If you
see pollution, take pictures if possible, write down the location & source
very carefully; and report them in writing (email works fine; click
"Report" above or below).
Report air pollution
which you see by email or fax
Report
any pollution immediately, so the inspectors can find the cause while the trail
is still fresh.
Find applications with detailed information on each permit
Individual permits on air
and water quality, and some others:
https://documents.dep.wv.gov/AppXtender/DataSources/DEPAX/account/login?ret=Lw==
User ID and password are both DEP (in
caps). On the next page click a category in the left margin:
DMR means discharge monitoring
UIC means underground injection
"Permits" means water and
waste management.
OOG means oil and gas.
General permits on
water quality, and some others (where many applicants use the same permit):
https://apps.dep.wv.gov/WebApp/_dep/Search/ePermitting/ePermittingApplicationSearchPage.cfm
In "Permit Number" put the
application number and click GO.
On the next page click the blue permit
ID.
On the next page click the permit name.
On the next page you can click any
section, or the word "Attachments" in the upper right corner. You can
open attachments on this page if you allow popups. If you click a section
first, and then Attachments, you won't see as much.
More search links are
at https://dep.wv.gov/permitting/Pages/default.aspx
Major applicants may
have special links from https://dep.wv.gov/
such as Rockwool and pipelines.
General Rules
Anyone who discharges anything into streams,
lakes, ground, or air must usually apply for a permit from the state, which
gives them limits on their pollution. These rules cover companies, nonprofits,
governments, mines, sewer plants, construction sites, and most other
activities. Permits are not needed for most farms, home septic systems (though
these need a health permit), and construction runoff if less than an acre of
land is cleared.
The federal and state legislatures believe
that totally forbidding pollution would cost too much, so they set limits which
are not too expensive to meet.
Pollution from construction sites,
including simple muddy water, is covered by these same rules, and is discussed here.
What You Can Do
You can comment on DEP permits and Corps of
Engineers permits (see below). Your first step is to
sign up to get email notices when DEP is working on a permit in your county and
wants public comment. Go to the middle of www.dep.wv.gov/insidedep/Pages/DEPMailingLists.aspx
People without email can get notices by US mail. Call
800-654-5227 or write to WV DEP-Public Information Office, 601 57th
Street SE, Charleston WV25304. Notices about comment periods are also in
newspaper legal ads. When you see a notice, if you are not sure exactly where
the discharge is, the notice will tell you the latitude & longitude, which
you can enter on a map.
When a comment period starts, email or
mail comments to the address in the notice, with application# & name
of the proposal, and convincing statements of how the proposal hurts or helps
water quality & violates or complies with environmental rules. If you can,
say how this permittee or similar ones have created problems/benefits in ways
that the permit could control. If you can, quote studies or EPA guidance about
how permits like this should be written. If you quote studies on the web or in
standard research journals, cite them; otherwise send the actual studies. Don't
tell DEP to contact you for more info; they don't have time, and it is up to you
to give evidence in the comment period, not later.
If you think people want to comment
orally, ask for a hearing. The government may or may not hold a hearing, but if
they do, it will be near the proposed project, and people can present comments
orally (usually 5 minutes each) or in writing (no limit). They generally do not
answer questions at the hearing, they just listen to comments.
If you get notice by email, it may be
easiest to comment by email. If the notice doesn't give the addressee's email
you may find it at http://www.dep.wv.gov/WWE/DWWMcontacts/Documents/Contact_Department.pdf
The Citizen's
Guide to DEP describes the many types of permits issued by DEP. More
and more are being announced on this email and US mail list.
Corps
of Engineers also issues permits for
activities in water & wetlands, and you can get on their lists to receive
notices by US mail. Three offices handle different parts of WV:
Huntington
http://www.lrh.usace.army.mil/permits/#cprPublic%20Notices
Pittsburgh
http://www.lrp.usace.army.mil/or/or-f/public_notice.htm
(and http://www.lrp.usace.army.mil/or/or-f/month.htm
to see final actions)
Baltimore http://www.nab.usace.army.mil/Regulatory/public_notices.htm
Getting More Information
To help you prepare comments, you can also
ask the same address in the notice, or the public
information office, for copies of the draft permit, application, fact
sheet, old permit, and other information in the file. You may or may not get
that information before the comment deadline. Some files are very large, and
you may be charged copying fees. If the address is close to you, you can go in
person to see the file. Call first so they're ready. They can also explain in
person or on the phone, the kinds of information in the files, and clarify why
the permit is the way it is. Some companies have multiple permits & files.
Of course if you're the person applying for the permit, you have this
information already, so you have a headstart.
Note that your comments and inquiries
become public, and others will know you were commenting or inquiring.
General Permits
When many people create pollution under
similar conditions, like construction sites, the state prepares a "General
Permit" with general rules, and the individual sites "register"
under the general permit, rather than applying for their own permits. These
registrations often are not announced on the email lists, though the general
permit itself is, when it is prepared and updated every 5 years. Construction
projects do have to post signs, which let you know you can comment, but other
general permits do not require that.
Next Steps
After they receive all comments &
decide what to do, they issue a "Responsiveness Summary" saying why
they were or were not convinced by each comment. They do reject most comments,
saying that what you want is not required by the minimum standards in the law,
and they decline to use their discretion to require something different.
If DEP makes "significant changes"
(undefined) after the comment period, there will be a new comment period with
new public notice.
If their final decision does not meet
the minimum standards in the law, and if you are affected (e.g. it's your
permit, or you swim, boat, fish, or use the water downstream), you can appeal
within 30 days of their decision to the WV Environmental
Quality Board (46CSR4), Air Quality Board, or Surface Mine Board.
Instructions are on their websites. Appeal must arrive or have a USPS postmark
(not Fedex or UPS) in 30 days.
The Board will schedule a hearing in
Charleston in a couple of months, where you and DEP present your case and any
documents and witnesses you want, to convince the 5- or 7-member board that you
are right & DEP was wrong. DEP and the organization holding the permit will
be represented by lawyers. Individuals can also use a lawyer, or represent
themselves. If you represent yourself, study their procedures (below) and ask
the staff to clarify anything you don't understand, though they cannot give you
advice.
If you reach agreement with DEP before
the hearing, you can present that agreement to the Board instead of going ahead
with the hearing. This pre-hearing settlement is one of the main ways either
the applicants or opponents get some changes. Settlement offers generally
cannot be used against you if you don't reach a settlement agreement (Evidence
Rule 408).
After the Board decides, either side can
(within 30 days) appeal to Kanawha County Circuit Court if necessary, then to
the WV Supreme Court, and then to federal courts.
The AQB operates under the WV Air Pollution Control Act,
and the Board’s hearing and procedures are in accordance with 52CSR1
Procedural Rule Governing Appeals, and the WV Rules of Civil
Procedure.
The EQB operates under the WV Administrative Procedures for
Contested Cases (29A-5-1) and 46CSR4
Procedural Rule Governing Appeals (46-04) in accordance with requirements
governing water
quality standards (46-01), groundwater
standards (46-12), reclassification
of waters designated for public water supply (46-07), and the procedural rule
governing site-specific revisions to water quality standards (46-06).
All 3 Boards may refer to the WV Rules of Civil
Procedure. and Rules of Evidence.
The Lists Below
Let You Get an Overview of Pollution Permits in Your Area.
You can usually
search by county, permit/application#, name, or USGS topo map name.
Background
Mapping: after you have a permit's
latitude & longitude, you can find it on a map
Water Pollutants discharged in
the past are posted by EPA.
When you select your county, they will
show a list of permits and you click on the number.
Then you can select the information to
see. To cut the massive volume, select just "Measurements and
Violations."
You'll see for each "parameter" (pollutant), the date of each report, amount found, and whether it complied with the permit. There will be a page or so printed for each pollutant, showing readings from every test reported. To find just the readings which violated the permit, search for the word, VIOLATION
If you don't understand abbreviations for the parameters,
some of them are:
BOD - Biochemical Oxygen Demand (a measure of biodegradable content; this is a pollutant, since it leads to lower oxygen levels in the stream as the effluent decomposes)
DO - Dissolved Oxygen (low levels suffocate life forms)
FECAL COLIFORM - a type of bacteria, not
necessarily harmful, but an easy-to-measure indicator that other harmful
bacteria are probably present
FLOW - volume of liquid released per day
(not directly harmful unless it causes erosion; important because more flow
carries more pollution)
PH - acidity/alkalinity (extremes harm
river life)
SUSPENDED SOLIDS - fine suspension of
anything in the liquid, which can harm water life & carry germs
Air Pollutants
discharged
in the past are posted by EPA
Air Pollution: general
information & rules
Leaking
Underground Storage Tanks & Superfund sites
Reminder:
sign up to hear about comment periods & other information on the
permit process
http://www.dep.wv.gov/permitting/Pages/default.aspx
0. Permits under Federal Clean Air Act
1. Permits Under Federal Clean Water Act (NPDES)
& Underground Injection , Not Coal or Quarry
2. Coal & Quarry Permits Under Federal Clean Water
Act (NPDES)
3. Mining Permits4
Electronically submitted permits (these also seem to be in relevant
searches above)
Corps
of Engineers also issues permits for activities in water & wetlands, and you
can get on their lists to receive notices by US mail. Three offices handle
different parts of WV:
Huntington
http://www.lrh.usace.army.mil/permits/#cprPublic%20Notices
Pittsburgh
http://www.lrp.usace.army.mil/or/or-f/public_notice.htm
(and http://www.lrp.usace.army.mil/or/or-f/month.htm
to see final actions)
Baltimore
http://www.nab.usace.army.mil/Regulatory/public_notices.htm
Detailed Rules (Definitely
comment if a permit violates these rules)
The limits for underground discharges
of water must protect sources of drinking water and any other uses of
underground water. Permits for underground discharges include industrial
disposal wells, agriculture drainage wells, coal-mine backfill injection wells,
and septic systems which have capacity to serve 20 or more people. (47CSR12)
The limits for discharges to surface
waters must meet all four rules:
(a) reflect the best technology available for limiting pollution
when the permit was originally issued or had a major expansion,
(b) meet the state's water quality standards (47CSR2,
formerly 46CSR1) (usually the discharge does not meet water quality standards
until it is diluted by a factor of 3 to 5, with river water
(c) limit any degrading of water quality (47CSR2,
formerly 46CSR1), and
(d) meet regional rules for tributaries to the Ohio River or
Chesapeake Bay.
The state Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP) calculates the pollution limits and writes the permits
according to federal rules (40CFR122
through 124 & 133) under the Clean
Water Act and its own rules 47CSR10, 47CSR11 (At http://apps.sos.wv.gov/csr/search.asp
click "Agency" & search for "water". Separately search
for "environment".)
These rules include a 30-day comment period for new permits, major modifications, and for updates which happen about every 5 years. The legal requirements for this public comment period are described at:
* 38CSR2-3.2 & following for coal mine
permit applications
*
47CSR10-12 & following for Office of Water Resources NPDES permits
* 47CSR13-13.24 and following for Underground
Injection permits
*
47CSR30-10.2.d.1.E and following for Mining and Reclamation NPDES permits
When the government does not comply with
the comment rules, we know of no case where they went back and did it right, even
when they sent no notices to the public, or erred by saying the site was in a
city 6 miles away.