W.Va. DEP, what is the impact of valley fills?

by: Clem Guttata

Wed Aug 26, 2009 at 16:52:47 PM EDT

Today the W.Va. DEP issued a response to last week's embarrassing disclosure that Sec. Huffman provided misleading testimony to the U.S. Senate.

Today's statement says:

"It is important to state that Cabinet Secretary Randy Huffman's testimony to the members of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works was not misleading as stated in the Gazette article," Mandirola said. "The sentence in his testimony that is the subject of the issue should not have been construed to mean that the only impact of valley fills was a diminished number of a certain genus of mayflies.

I reread the portion of the testimony the W.Va. DEP helpfully provides as context as generously as possible. I still reach the conclusion that when Sec. Huffman said, "Without evidence of any significant impact on the rest of the ecosystem beyond the diminished numbers of certain genus of mayflies, the State cannot say that there has been a violation of its narrative standard" he meant that the only concerning impact of valley fills was a diminished number of a certain genus of mayflies.

So, here's my question for Secretary Randy Huffman or designated spokespersons Scott Mandirola and Pat Campbell.

If Secretary Randy Huffman intended to leave the impression that there are more impacts of valley fills beyond a diminished number of a certain genus of mayflies, what are those impacts?

I didn't see any additional impacts mentioned in today's press release. The best way to clear up any potential misunderstanding is to let us know what those impacts are.