Maryland Won't Limit West Virginia's Access to Potomac

After threatening to sue the state of Maryland, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey has announced that Maryland is halting the permitting process that would have restricted West Virginia’s use of the Potomac River.

News outlets report that Morrisey had told Maryland officials in early November that the state of Maryland could not impose regulations on West Virginia’s rights to draw from the river.

Morrisey announced Wednesday that Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh and Maryland Secretary of the Environment Ben Grumbles said in a Nov. 22 letter that West Virginia users are not required to get permits from Maryland.

Morrisey had argued that his state needs the water to support a $500 million manufacturing plant that P&G plans to build on its side of the Potomac.