US Agency Rejects Funding for W.Va. Water Projects

Proposals to fund drinking water projects in four West Virginia counties have been rejected by federal regulators.
 
The rejected projects are funded with money from the Abandoned Mine Land program. But federal officials say West Virginia hasn’t shown that the projects are really aimed at remedying water supply damage caused by coal mining before passage of a 1977 strip mining law.
 
The Charleston Gazette reports that the U.S. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement said Thursday it is “impossible” at present for federal officials to approve the projects. They include the construction of water lines in Logan, Nicholas, Preston and Wyoming counties.
 
The DEP said it’s working with local water systems, consultants and the OSM to provide additional data for the projects that were rejected.