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Earth Day brought some sobering thoughts for a million West Virginia residents
who live in counties with unhealthy levels of air pollution, according to the state
Department of Environmental Protection.
Two-thirds of the state's streams violate water quality limits or are in danger of
doing so, according to the agency.
Thousands of acres of abandoned coal mines have polluted water or public
safety hazards, unclaimed by their owners.
A 22-page report released yesterday provides a snapshot of West Virginia's air,
land and water. The report is available on-line at www.dep.org.
"West Virginia is rich in mountainous terrain, scenic vistas and pristine streams
for fishing, kayaking and whitewater rafting," governor Bob Wise said. "There are
few things more important than protecting our environment so that our citizens
and visitors can continue to enjoy West Virginia's beauty."
"The report does not draw conclusions about the quality of West Virginia's
environment," the report says. "It simply presents a common base of data, and
trends where possible, for others to interpret and analyze," said the agency.
"It would not be scientifically defensible to characterize the state's environment as good, moderate or bad based on
these indicators alone," the report said. "In almost all cases, additional explanation and information would be needed to
accurately describe what is happening based on these environmental measurements."
"From historical anecdotal reports of a dark veil of smog in the Kanawha Valley, and rivers that ran foul in many parts of
the state, I think everyone can agree that we live in a much cleaner environment today than we did just 30 years ago,"
said Stephannie Timmermeyer of the EPA. "However, it is an important and necessary endeavor to quantify that
progress and track trends. We begin that step today in West Virginia."
The agency said the report did not include major concerns about mountaintop removal and logging practices.
Nearly half of the state's 1.8 million residents do not have sanitary sewer service.
Fecal coliform bacteria â which can come from improperly treated sewage â is one of the major pollutants of the
state's waterways.
After slowly dropping during most of the 1990s, the amount of garbage dumped into state landfills increased sharply
between 2001 and 2002.
At least 16 counties across the state violate federal air quality standards for one or more pollutants. Also, after dropping
by nearly 20 percent between 2000 and 2001, toxic air emissions in the state jumped back up in 2002, to 70 million
pounds.
Since 1982, there have been 2,760 confirmed leaks from underground fuel tanks in the state. As of Sept. 30, 2003, the
state had 6,300 active underground storage tanks.
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