Tell DEP You Want a Strong Tank Rule

Submit comments on the Aboveground Storage Tank (AST) Rule by Wednesday, January 21. These rules are enacting the important bill passed last year to protect our water.

Here’s what to do:

1. Let DEP know you want strong regulations of tanks close to surface waters and adequate bonding requirements to ensure tank owners will be financially responsible for potential contamination events.
2. Want to say more? Here are some suggestions. Tell the DEP to:
   1. Reinstate the more inclusive Level 1 tank definition that was in the rough draft of the rule;
   2. Maintain the rule’s regulation of Level 2 tanks;
   3. Establish registration fees that adequately fund and staff the program;
   4. Provide an opportunity for public notice and comment on certificates to operate; and
   5. Increase bond amounts so that they cover potential liability of a tank failure.
3. Write “Aboveground Storage Tank Comments” in the subject line and email your comments to WVDEPtankrules@wv.gov.

DEP is also holding the public hearing on the rule Wednesday, Jan. 21 at 6 p.m. at the DEP Headquarters, located at 601 57th Street SE, Charleston.

Background:

Senate Bill 373, containing the Aboveground Storage Tank (AST) Act and the Public Water Supply Protection Act was passed by the Legislature last year in response to the Elk River chemical leak that contaminated the drinking water of more than 300,000 West Virginians on January 9, 2014. The AST Act required the DEP to conduct an inventory of aboveground storage tanks around the state and to develop regulations for consideration in the 2015 Legislative session. The agency’s proposed rule, which establishes this regulatory program, is currently in a public comment period through Wednesday, January 21, 2015.

Click here to view the proposed rule.

Click here for the WV Rivers Coalitions’ Citizens’ Guide to SB 373.

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