We have fishing , biking, hiking and other outings planned along with environmental education sessions. Please check and make sure there is room, this quite possibly is a once in a lifetime, never to be repeated event.

 

http://mailchi.mp/wvrivers/explore-the-mon-national-forest-during-the-best-of-birthplace-of-rivers-weekend-2672897?e=32a0603ed1

 

Source

If scientific and fact-based water policy analysis and advocacy matters to you, please make a tax-deductible donation to WV Rivers’ Science Fund. The Science Fund pays for critical needs like fact sheets, expert testimony, and tools that make it easy for you to submit comments. This is expensive, labor intensive work and it depends entirely on support from people, like you, to happen.

Thanks to a pledge from a generous donor, the first $10,000 donated to WV Rivers’ Science Fund will be matched, doubling your impact! Any amount helps, please donate today!

At yesterday’s House Judiciary public hearing and committee meeting on HB 2811, legislators heard concerns from citizens and public water systems about the exemptions the bill adds to the Aboveground Storage Tank (AST) Act. Theintroduced version of the bill would have exempted 29,000 oil and gas tanks fromWVDEP’s AST registry – a database established after the Freedom Industries tank leak to have information available on ownership, location, size, age and contents of ASTs across the state. The committee responded to our concerns by restoring the requirements for these tanks to register, label and to provide notice to downstream public water systems. Though the bill passed out of committee would still exempt near 2,300 oil and gas tanks from regulation under the AST Act, maintaining the AST registry is a significant victory! The bill now goes to the full House for vote. Read more from the Charleston Gazette-Mail here.

Contact Your Senators Now on HB 2506

We’re still in a holding pattern as we wait for the West Virginia Senate to take up HB 2506, the bill that would allow more toxins to be discharged in to our water. If you haven’t already, please send you senators a letter asking them to reject HB 2506. Already sent a letter? Ask your friends and family members to get involved! Looking for some more clarification on how HB 2506 is bad for rivers? The bill proposes to change the way discharge limits are calculated. In essence, through the calculation change, rivers would appear to have much more water flowing through them at their low flows, which would create the potential for a higher amount of toxic discharge. WV Rivers’ science advisor, Evan Hansen, created the chart below to show how changing the calculation would apply to rivers throughout the state.

Last week a bill, HB 2909, was introduced that would abolish the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of the Environmental Advocate. The Environmental Advocate serves an important role in state government, providing daily assistance to the public on environmental issues and WVDEP related questions. Important issues handled by the Office of the Environmental Advocate include: questions about the public comment process; how to appeal agency decisions; and how to file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

We’ll be keeping a close eye on this bill and we’ll let you know when it’s time to take

: WV Rivers Policy Updates: Tank Bill Improvements, Help Keep Science a Priority, Contact Your Senators

The polls are open! WV Living is collecting votes for the 2016 Best of West Virginia Awards. Last year WV Rivers was voted the “Best Conservation Organization” and this year we are in the running again.

Help WV Rivers and YOU, our members, keep our title! Cast your vote for WV Rivers here. Make sure to vote by October 17, 2016. Results will be published in the Winter 2016 issue of WV Living.

Source: Vote for WV Rivers in the Best of West Virginia Awards!

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY!!!!!!

We are so excited to offer a volunteer opportunity as part of Trout Unlimited’s and WV Rivers’  WV/VA Water Quality Monitoring Program! We are hosting a one day Watershed Snapshot Day for folks to help us collect water quality samples in the Monongahela National Forest (MNF). No prior water quality monitoring experience is needed.

The event is limited to 35 participants, please register by September 23. Register here: http://goo.gl/forms/DiFbNOixn63caLFl1.

Watershed Snapshot Day brings together volunteers from throughout West Virginia to collect water quality data and samples within the Monongahela National Forest (MNF), providing a “snapshot” of water quality conditions within the forest. This data helps establish baseline conditions in advance of any potential development within or adjacent to the forest, including pipelines and shale gas development. Snapshot Day is a great opportunity to meet other volunteers and explore a beautiful part of West Virginia.

Registration begins at 9:45am and the day will wrap-up around 4:30pm. We’ll provide you with an event t-shirt and bagged lunch for the field. We’ll have a BBQ picnic when you get back!
Here’s How it Works
In the morning, we will assign groups of 2-4 volunteers with their monitoring routes, which will consist of 4-8 sites. We’ll provide detailed directions on how to get to each monitoring location. Before folks start monitoring, we’ll hold a mini-training on the sample collection protocols. The monitoring groups will then fan out to collect data from throughout the MNF. We’ll have dinner ready as groups return. We’ll be meeting at the Stuart Recreation Area right on Shaver’s Fork near Elkins, WV. This is a beautiful part of the state and a great time to visit.

You can find further information and registration instructions here.

Please don’t hesitate to call or email Jake Lemon, Trout Unlimited’s Eastern Shale Gas Monitoring Coordinator, if you have any questions, 814-779-3965, jlemon@tu.org.

Source: Volunteer Opportunity – Water Quality Monitoring – Oct. 1, Elkins

Amy J. Horneman, Ph.D., SM(ASCP), associate professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Microbiology Lab director at the VA Maryland Health Care System, will discuss the safety of various types of recreational water sources in the region.

Source: Jefferson County: Clean Water Events Near You!

If these power plants are completed where will the power be sold and will new transmission lines need to be created to transmit the energy to markets to the east or will old ones need to be upgraded?

 

 

CLARKSBURG — Work is continuing to bring three natural-gas-fired power plants to West Virginia, with an estimated $2 billion investment in the three projects, an official with Energy Solutions Consortium

Source: Three power plants worth $2B planned in WV; Moundsville to begin construction this year | Local News | theet.com

Clean water advocates submit more comments than ever before!!

Source: WV Rivers News: 2 Actions on Natural Gas, WQS Hearing Update, Film Fest, Fall Events

 

” these 90-degree days may have West Virginians looking forward to the cooler temperatures of fall ” but for flood victims this may not be the case.

Source: Nanya Friend: Clay flood victims fight invisibility (Daily Mail)

Check out my Ookla Speedtest result at NVCC Loudoun County campus. What’s your speed? http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/a/2109660531