laws and regulations of the state of West
Virginia, the DEP doesn’t get to pick and
choose who gets a permit. If a permit is
valid and their activities meet all of the
regulations of the state, then we have to
give them a permit.
WVE: What is your response to
those who disagree with scaling
Caperton and his friends rode 101 miles
through the Rockies to raise $25,000 for
cancer research. Photo by Austin Caperton.
back regulations over concern
for the state’s environment? For
example, many feared HB 2506
would increase water pollution.
AC: I am learning that this water regu-
lation is very complex and technical. The
bottom line is there is nothing out there
that scales back the standards required
for drinking water. Of course, we only
regulate the input side, so when water
reaches a certain point in any stream, it
has to meet certain standards before it
can be used as drinking water. It’s still
going to go through the drinking water
clarification and purification process, but
we don’t regulate the output side. That’s
the Department of Health. We regulate
what happens before the water gets there.
There are different ways of measuring the
amount of discharge that any particular
permittee can release into a stream. House
Bill 2506 really changes how we measure
what can go into a stream, but it has no
impact whatsoever on the final product
entering our water plants.
WVE: When you took office, you
removed the head of the DEP’s
Office of Environmental Advocates,
a move that has been met with some
concern from the environmental
community. Tell us about this move
and others you’ve made and why
they were necessary.
AC: The laws and regulations of our
state and the federal government rec-
ognize that when a new administration
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