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When coal is involved, too many want to turn a blind eye so they can have their cheap electricity. I agree with State Sen. John Unger:
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Randy Huffman will have to get used to visiting lawmakers: The water resources commission intends to demand monthly updates on coal slurry injection and whether it's making people sick.
"If this was an outbreak of any other source, the Centers for Disease Control would be in there to find out what's happening and what's causing it,'' Sen. John Unger, D-Berkeley, said Friday.
The practice involves pumping wastewater from the washing of coal into worked-out underground mines. Many Southern West Virginia residents say the toxic soup has bled into aquifers, poisoned their wells and wrecked their health - a claim the industry disputes and the DEP says it has been unable to verify.
At a recent hearing, legislators blasted Huffman for DEP's failure to meet multiple deadlines on a study that examines the safety of slurry injection and whether it's a risk to human health.
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