Progress for Clean Water Depends on You
The 2018 WV legislative session ended a couple of weeks ago, and what a time it was! If you followed our weekly updates, you know we were up against some serious challenges to our water quality.
Thanks to the support of WV Rivers’ members, we were able to playstrong defense; we killed a number of bad bills and made significant improvements to others. Click here for a full summary of the 2018 session.
Our biggest win came when we killed a bill that tried to open state parks to commercial logging. Our organizing generated over 18,000 actions against the bill, killing it before it ever left committee! Read the inspiring story of its defeat here.
This success didn’t come cheap. We spent the money we had to in order to win. Over the next two months, we need to raise $15,000 to restore our Science Fund, the donor-supported fund that pays for our scientific and fact-based policy work.
We need a strong Science Fund to continue our work on three priority issues:
Fracking and Pipelines
Large swaths of WV communities are starting to see first-hand the impact of large-scale pipeline construction. Years of building our volunteer monitoring program has us ready for this moment. More eyes on these projects mean less damage to our waters.
Donate now to support pipeline watch-dogging and enforcement.
Water Quality Standards
These important rules control the amount of pollution in our rivers and streams. We’ve already been alerted of behind the scenes efforts to make major changes to these standards, further setting back recovery for streams impacted by coal mining.
Donate now to make sure ALL of West Virginia’s rivers and streams get the protections they need.
Industrial Polluters
One of the bills WV Rivers successfully improved this past session was SB290, which makes changes to water quality standards and pollution limits for industrial polluters. While we were able to improve the bill, it’s still bad for water. It will require rule-making to implement new pollution limits, and our scientific analysis is really going to matter.
Donate now to activate our experts, and activists like you, to weigh-in during the public rule-making process.
WV Rivers’ clean water advocacy is paid for by people like you. Without your financial support, our progress for clean water wouldn’t be possible! Please donate today.
For clean water and healthy streams,
Angie Rosser, Executive Director
