"CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Lawmakers on Thursday grilled the Tomblin administration about more than 20 categories of chemical storage tanks that would be exempted from key safety provisions of legislation proposed in response to the Jan. 9 leak that contaminated drinking water for 300,000 West Virginians."
"A 120-car Norfolk Southern Corp train carrying heavy Canadian crude oil derailed and spilled in western Pennsylvania on Thursday, adding to a string of recent accidents that have prompted calls for stronger safety standards."
"DILLINER, Pa. -- One worker has been injured and another is missing after a natural gas well explosion and fire in southwestern Pennsylvania, within miles of the West Virginia border."
"CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- More than 100,000 gallons of coal slurry poured into an eastern Kanawha County stream Tuesday in what officials were calling a 'significant spill' from a Patriot Coal processing facility."
"CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- When the lengthy prepared statements were over, Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., opened the question-and-answer session with a predictable query: Is the drinking water supply that serves 300,000 West Virginians safe?"
"Weeks after health authorities had told West Virginians that their water was safe to drink again following a toxic spill, schools in Charleston sent students home abruptly last week when students and staff members detected the telltale licorice odor of the leaked chemical."
"Warnings come despite federal health officials declaring water was free from chemical contamination after January 9 spill."
While EPA and local utilities make much data available online, the Environmental Working Group has compiled a tap water database that is much easier to use. It gathers data from the states as well as from EPA, and compiles city-by-city rankings of the best and worst drinking water quality. It also explains the health significance of contaminants and lists contaminants not regulated by EPA.
After the SEJ and the Society of Professional Journalists complained January 20, 2014, about federal agency press office stonewalling in the face of the Charleston, WV, drinking water disaster, the agencies responded. Read the text of their replies here.
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