West Virginia DEP Schedules Training For Electronic DMR Submissions

The state Division of Water and Waste Management has free training scheduled for the following dates for the regulated community and consultants who are required to submit certain water resources permit applications and discharge monitoring reporting (DMR) electronically to the DWWM. The training will be conducted at the state Department of Environmental Protection headquarters, located at 601 57th St, SE, Charleston, WV   25304.

The dates are:

September 26, 2013 Thursday

ePermitting  10:00 am to 12:00 pm

September 26, 2013 Thursday

eReporting 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm

October 7, 2013 Monday

ePermitting  10:00 am to 12:00 pm

October 7, 2013

Monday                                                               

eReporting 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm

October 31, 2013 Thursday

ePermitting 10:00 am to 12:00 pm

October 31, 2013 Thursday

eReporting 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm

To reserve a spot for the above training, contact either Mavis Layton at Mavis.L.Layton@wv.gov, (304) 926-0499, ext. 1025; or Megan Smith at Megan.D.Smith@wv.gov, (304) 926-0499, ext. 1281. E-mail is preferable.

                                                          

The WV Environmental Training Center is hosting DEP Training in the Bridgeport area around the end of November/early December 2013 instead of Morgantown as previously mentioned.  Check the wvetc.org website calendar in a month or so for actual date and sign up with them.  

  

District Court Interprets NPDES Permit Shield

Judge Chambers of the USDC for the Southern Dist of WV recently ruled, in a case pertaining to discharges from a surface coal mine, that the mine (owned by Marfork Coal Co.) was in violation of its NPDES permit if it discharged selenium in excess of the state water quality criteria, even though it had no permit limit for selenium.  As part of the permit application process, the mine had tested for selenium and found it at a level too low to qualify for an effluent limit, based on a reasonable potential analysis.  Sampling done by environmental groups at a later time allegedly revealed selenium discharges in excess of state criteria, and the environmentalists brought a citizen suit under the Clean Water Act, claiming that Marfork had violated its permit.

Marfork relied upon the permit shield that is found in the federal (CWA Section 402(k)) and state (W. Va. Code 22-11-6(2)) acts. The Court ruled that the permit shield provided no protection against a citizen suit alleging a violation of water quality standards, even where the agency had been provided selenium data at the time of the permit application, and had rejected effluent limits for selenium.  The Court decided that the permit required compliance with water quality standards, and the presence of any pollutant in excess of water quality criteria  (numeric or narrative, presumably) was a violation of the permit, even if no numeric permit limit had been placed in the permit. 

One  crucial difference between coal permits and other NPDES permits is that the  coal NPDES regulations have a provision that requires dischargers to comply with water quality standards, and the industrial NPDES regulations do not.  That may provide industrial facilities with a more expansive permit shield. 

The case is Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition v. Marfork Coal Company, Case 5:12-CV-01464 (Aug 23, 2103).  Thanks to Bob McLusky for bringing this to my attention.

Great Kanawha River Cleanup September 14, 2013

The 24th annual Great Kanawha River Cleanup, sponsored by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, is scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Sept. 14.

Cleanup sites include Kanawha Falls at Glen Ferris; Magic Island in Charleston; Winfield Beach/Locks; Daniel Boone Park in Charleston; and Roadside Park in St. Albans.

Those wishing to volunteer are urged to register with the DEP so enough supplies can be obtained for each cleanup location. The DEP’s REAP program (Rehabilitation Environmental Action Plan) will supply bags and gloves for volunteers and will arrange for trash to be hauled away.

All volunteers also will receive a T-shirt.

Last year, local citizens collected two tons of debris and trash from the Kanawha River’s banks. Over the last five years, volunteers have removed more than 30 tons of trash from the river and around 400 discarded tires.

For more information or to register to volunteer, contact Travis Cooper at 304-926-0499 ext. 1117 or email:

Travis.L.Cooper@wv.gov