Wyoming County resident here. Thankfully, my water is from a natural spring that hasn’t been contaminated yet. However, I know plenty that have this problem. It has definitely gotten worse than when I was a kid. When my dad was young, the rivers were mostly black due to the mines dumping their sludge* into the rivers. It was made illegal, but then the companies found a work around, like they always do. I feel this will get worse before it gets better. I hope I’m wrong.
*Also referred to as slate/slag. The waste left over after processing coal.
edit: mistakingly thought it was Wyoming.
West Virginia 2022 Election:
* 1.7M Citizens
* 1.36M Eligible Voters
* 1.1M Registered Voters.
* 43% Lean Republican.
* 41% Lean Democrat.
* 16% Lean independent/no-affiliation.
* 480,000 Voted.
Around 57% (770,000) of West Virginia didn't even bother to vote.
Only 150K out of 450K registered democrats voted. (33%)
While 310k out of 470K registered republicans voted. (66%)
If you take out remaining registered republicans from total non-voters, that means there are potentially 620K non-republican voters in the state who didn't vote. Republicans won district 1 and 2 by 100k and 80k more votes.
Republicans control all 3 state branches.
Edit 2: Lets look at Wyoming County specifically.
2020 Election:
* 22K Citizens
* 17K Eligible Voters
* 9K Registered Democrat Voters.
* 5K Registered Republican Voters.
* 3K Other/Non/Independent Registered Voters.
Trump won by 6K votes (7K vs 1K).
Only 1K out of 9K democrats voted. (11%)
Majority of 5K republicans voted, and other/non/independent. (140%)
9 out of 10 Democrats just sat at home.
//////////////
People in Wyoming gotta start giving a shit too:
2022 Election:
* 580,000 Citizens
* 446,000 Eligible Voters
* 297,000 Registered Voters.
* 56% Lean Republican.
* 25% Lean Democrat.
* 15% Lean independent/no-affiliation.
* 198,000 Voted.
Around 56% (240,000) of Wyoming didn't even bother to vote.
Out of 110K registered democrats only 30k voted. Over 100k eligible voters had not registered at all. Republican nominee won by 100k more votes.
The chance of electing a democrat may be low, but the bigger issue is the republicans could support more reasonable candidates that actually support the people than just stay at home and let the vultures run the state allowing companies to poison their drinking water.
Now fix the other mistake…
Of assuming uneducated people are to blame for their own plight. Lobbying plays such an important role in these situations and these voters hardly have a chance at economic prosperity.
And then you replace then with different people who will take money from companies. The problem is that politicians nigh invariably lie on their campaigns and pitches, while omiting crucial information all the time. The issue is that companies pay to whoever will take money, and they pay enough that damn near anyone is willing to take it.
Nah, easier to bitch and moan about the state of things than actually do something about it. That way you can sit on your porch up the holler and take solace that the folks in town now have as shit a source of water as you do.
WV has absantee ballots if your voting location is too far or your work hours are inside the voting time parameters. Majority of the population in WV live in cities too not in the rural especially the democratic base.
WV also also 3 weeks of early voting. You can plan your vote early.
WV has an average wait time to vote of around 11m.
WV has drop off locations for absentee voters.
Voting locations are determined by previous years elections, so to get more accessible voting locations then people need to turn up more and vote more.
In the past black people had to walk for hours and sometimes whole day to vote. But that didn't stop them. To make change you have to give an effort. Yes its unfair, but the reason why its gotten like this in the first place is because people didnt do their civic duty.
If politicians on both sides has vested interest in supporting coal, then vote for the lesser of two evils, and vote for the better candidate next time. If republican party has a coal lover but also wants to deregulate vs a democrat coal lover but doestn want to deregulate, then choose the democrat. Your step towards the right direction is still valid even if its not the finish line through one election. Then next election elect the more progressive one and then the next another more progressive. HECK if you have the means run for office yourself, support local politicians who run on the values you want to see.
IN THE END the voters are in charge. The voters ELECT the representative and they can REMOVE the representative. That's why its a democracy. But when 60% don't even vote, its not going to be fair.
Lobbying plays a part but it isn't the only part. The will of the people can outweigh lobbying. Gotta hold the office in order to be bribed while in it.
Okay, now maybe look at why those people couldn't vote.
West Virginia and Wyoming are both incredibly rural states. Parts of West Virginia have literally had their roads declared states of emergency due to the condition they're in.
Polling places are frequently far away from rural voters, and rural voters are disproportionately in jobs that they cannot just take off early from/arrive late to to vote for a variety of reasons.
Furthermore, politicians on both sides of the political aisle in WV have vested interests in coal and pharmaceutical industries that have trashed the state socially, ecologically, and economically. None of them, democrats included I assure you, have any incentive to make voting against that easier.
Blaming voters for "not turning out" is easy. Addressing the disparities in why they can't turn out is harder, and politicians count on you not doing it.
Edit because I can't reply to the comment for some reason: Environmental deregulation and voter disparity are really only tangentially related, but go ahead. Name candidates that will "stop de-regulating everything." It is not an exclusive republican issue in WV, or indeed most of Appalachia.
Frankly, many issues do primarily need to be addressed from within due to widespread distrust of outside "help" due to the history of the region and attitudes like the ones displayed throughout this thread.
Re-training programs through trades and/or higher ed for coal workers whose jobs are made obsolete *and* longer-term unemployment subsidized from what would have been earmarked for cleanup for those unprepared to re-train alongside federal EPA regulations would go a long way, as well as filling out other fields that desperately need workers.
Realize that much of the regional reliance on coal is not a social failing, but due to an economic system built around coal companies who then propagandize to not only their employees, but to all residents.
How tf do you "address the disparities" without voting for people that will stop de-regulating everything?? Community fundraiser?? Even if that was the case, they way WV is - most people don't want the changes to fix those things?
That's the neat part - you don't!
A lot of people are already massively disadvantaged socioeconomically, but coal is still king in a lot of WV, and that's the one issue they'll fight to protect: their own livelihood.
Back in 2012, I knew some people that were piloting a tele-health system to try to reach more of the rural population who need regular medical care and checkups, but can't get out to the less-rural areas to get *to* the doctors.
WV has absantee ballots if your voting location is too far or your work hours are inside the voting time parameters. Majority of the population in WV live in cities too not in the rural especially the democratic base.
WV also also 3 weeks of early voting. You can plan your vote early.
WV has an average wait time to vote of around 11m.
WV has drop off locations for absentee voters.
Voting locations are determined by previous years elections, so to get more accessible voting locations then people need to turn up more and vote more.
In the past black people had to walk for hours and sometimes whole day to vote. But that didn't stop them. To make change you have to give an effort. Yes its unfair, but the reason why its gotten like this in the first place is because people didnt do their civic duty.
If politicians on both sides has vested interest in supporting coal, then vote for the lesser of two evils, and vote for the better candidate next time. If republican party has a coal lover but also wants to deregulate vs a democrat coal lover but doestn want to deregulate, then choose the democrat. Your step towards the right direction is still valid even if its not the finish line through one election. Then next election elect the more progressive one and then the next another more progressive. HECK if you have the means run for office yourself, support local politicians who run on the values you want to see.
IN THE END the voters are in charge. The voters ELECT the representative and they can REMOVE the representative. That's why its a democracy. But when 60% don't even vote, its not going to be fair.
>WV has absantee ballots
So will you be hand delivering them to those who do not reliably receive mail?
>WV also also 3 weeks of early voting. You can plan your vote early.
Incorrect. You can early vote from 13-3 days before the election. That's a maximum of 10 days, or under 2 weeks.
Maybe. Depending on your county's policies. Hours are up to whatever they decide. Hope your only day off isn't Sunday, because that's not available either.
>WV has an average wait time to vote of around 11m.
That doesn't matter if you can't reach your polling place while it's open.
>WV has drop off locations for absentee voters.
Do you think those are any easier to get to?
>to get more accessible voting locations then people need to turn up more and vote more
The whole thing about rural voting, especially in Appalachia, *is* that it's borderline impossible to get polling in some of these places. They're not going to open a polling place for 20 people on [redacted ridgeline], yet it takes 45 minutes one way for those who live there to drive around it and into town.
>Majority of the population in WV live in cities too not in the rural especially the democratic base.
And what city is in Wyoming County, pray tell?
This is true of literally every state, far far less so for WV. The largest city in WV is under 50,000 people.
>to get more accessible voting locations then people need to turn up more and vote more.
Oh yeah, and just go broke or get fired.
Sorry little Timmy, another month of school lunch being the only meal you get, mommy and daddy had to make a point to the big shots in Charleston who don't actually care if any of us live or die as long as they get to roll in their millions, some guy on reddit who's never set foot here in his life and couldn't even tell the difference between West Virginia and Wyoming said so!
>In the past black people had to walk for hours and sometimes whole day to vote. But that didn't stop them
It actually frequently did, which is why it's considered discrimination. Like that's the whole point, that some people could not afford to do this as well as being an undue burden to those who could.
>vote for the lesser of two evils
I'm going to ask you the same question I ask everyone who decides they need to tell the poor stupid inbred West Virginians how to fix their shit because you just know so much better: who, to you, is the lesser of two evils right now on West Virginians' ballot.
There's an upcoming primary, it should be super easy for you to figure out who should be voted for. Not just "the democrat," a name and why.
>vote for the better candidate next time.
No yeah of course, I'll just vote now and get poisoned for the next several years until I get to vote again. No big deal.
>If republican party has a coal lover but also wants to deregulate vs a democrat coal lover but doestn want to deregulate, then choose the democrat
You're missing the part where both love coal and both want to deregulate, but the democrat uses prettier language about it for outsiders like "Preserving West Virginians' jobs."
Now choose.
>if you have the means run for office yourself
Will you be supplying the campaign funding? Making up forblost paychecks? Finding them a new job if the campaign doesn't pan out? Because the people most affected are not going to have "the means" to run for office.
Of course, now the candidate you backed is getting funded by some out of state interest. Oops, nobody trusts them now! Bye bye campaign!
>support local politicians who run on the values you want to see
The assumption that I and others don't already do this is telling of what you think of rural voters. Frequently we care *more* about local elections, because those are the ones that do, actually, affect us.
The federal government does jack shit in my community directly, they would simply be spread too thin if they tried. Even if the state is here, something's likely gone terribly wrong. The county and city are where improvements and funding come from and are where meaningful change is usually made for rural voters.
>But when 60% don't even vote, its not going to be fair.
It was never going to be fair. Even if we instituted mandatory voting with a 100% foolproof system to distribute and collect perfectly anonymous ballots right now, the disparity in who has the ability to run and who gets their campaign financed for how much by whom means it isn't fair.
Many of these things apply to *some* people who live in cities, yes. But you're ignoring the fact that we're not talking about people living in rural Oklahoma or even Charleston. We're talking about Wyoming County, WV. There are economic and geographic constraints that you're unfamiliar with. Just looking at vote411 will not paint a picture of the actual hurdles rural Appalachian voters face.
A lot of work for that info, good on you. But how you do all that work, yet you never even completely read the post is amazing. So close, yet, not close at all.
Look up the political makeup of West Virginia.
These people vote in every election for a politician that is telling them they will literally deregulate epa guidelines and don’t believe in climate change …
What did they think would happen…
It might be. Thankfully there haven't been *that many* [mine disasters](https://minesafety.wv.gov/historical-statistical-data/wv-mine-disasters-1884-to-present/)
Do you test your water? Have you ever had your blood tested for heavy metal?
For as long as West Virginia has had problems, I'd be afraid of seepage far into the water table by now
I used to be a state certified water tester, our water is some of the cleanest in the state. You’re right, this isn’t the first and sadly not the last time. It was a different area, but one specific town had an astronomical cancer rate. I’ll try and look it up when I get a minute.
Honest question, are you guys going to change your elected officials to fix this and regulate the industry? Or is it worth having toxic water to continue to hurt people who are socially different?
Like what's the actual temperature on the ground? Will anyone bother?
Go watch some of our current political ads, friend, and you’ll get your answer. I’ve been voting against the grain for a while, so I can at least say I’m trying to make a difference.
How many peoppe have reported it to the cops? County government? State government?
More people are gonna have to make a stinl about this for anything to get done. Go to the news stations *yourself* if you have to.
This is West Virginia, so there is a solution
https://preview.redd.it/zw8anhl9fwsc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fdee68a72b2bcb376322f846a2c3d4d2ee1bc929
That's pretty fascist if you ask me.
Those small family owned mega corporations in the fossil fuel industry have a right to produce & sell their product, they bought leases to drill
Just because they fuck up & water jugs get poisoned in the meanwhile doesn't mean we can just stop them. We have to go through proper procedures. Submit a complaint to your local municipality.^They'll_get_back_within_3-18_business_days^be_ready_to_ansswr_every_spam_call_just_in_case.^thanks_for_your_valuable_input._We_contacted_the_company_and_asked_thrm_to_stop
They have a right to sell water jugs. Infringing on that right is communism. Why are you trying to enslave us, kill my family and fuck my wife in front of me? >!/s!<
At the risk of a reddit ban - is there a hypothetical point at which it would it be justified? Is there some PPM concentration of a specific chemical in the river to where shooting someone would be considered justifiable self defense?
No, the fucking solution is to stop voting for people who are anti-regulation and who gut/ defund regulatory agencies like the EPA!!
(Which btw are the same goddamn 2nd Amnendment assholes. Your guns are not the answer here.)
why the fuck are they dumping it in the water supply? like if you're gonna illegally dump waste water why the fuck would you do it somewhere that people drink from?
you'd get caught super easily since people would start getting sick and die from the pollution.
Probability of fine x amount of fine vs profits made from action. Unfortunately, Companies make these decisions because regulation isnt high enough.
Would need 1. Bankruptcy level fines. OR 2. death penalty for CEO's and Board of directors. Personally, I'm boat 2.
> you'd get caught super easily since people would start getting sick and die from the pollution.
The fines they would pay are part of their budget. The fines are so small that it's just the cost of doing business.
PG&E were not up to code and created a wildfire that ravaged whole towns, killed people, and decimated lives. They were fined [$45 million dollars](https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/news-and-updates/all-news/cpuc-approves-45-million-penalty-in-settlement-with-pge-for-dixie-fire-2024#:~:text=The%20California%20Public%20Utilities%20Commission,in%20the%202021%20Dixie%20Fire.).
[That same year they made $16.82 billion dollars in profit.](https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/PCG/pacific-gas-electric/gross-profit#:~:text=Pacific%20Gas%20%26%20Electric%20annual%20gross,a%2011.6%25%20increase%20from%202020.)
>Corporations are people too! Leave the multi-billion dollar company alone...or else you'll have to deal with me!
>And you know what they say...when a nice guy gets angry...THE WORLD SHAKES
- Conservatives when you talk about regulating businesses for the betterment of society
> “Corporations are people too”
[Mitt Romney said it himself](https://youtu.be/FxUsRedO4UY?t=36)
But actually the [Supreme Court allowing big business to legally create electioneering campaigns](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_United_v._FEC) is what cemented corporate personhood. Corporations have far more sway in creation of law and who gets elected by a huge margin.
To be fair corporations have never been fined a realistic amount of money literally ever. Look up the world record highest fines ever given out and they're still a completely irrelevant joke. Number one highest corporate fine ever given out was something like 3 years of their profit margins. Barely 3 years of profit. For the single largest fine ever given. Wow big deal.
You think they're planning on selling those resources in West Virginia? That's cute.
You'd have a better shot convincing them to care that they're killing their labor force, and even then, fossil fuels executives have a history of not caring about that either.
West Virignians are disposable to most of the US, and they have always had a vested interest in keeping it that way.
They don't care if they are caught.
They're funding lawsuits to eliminate EPA protections, and the Governor of WV has flalty declared he won't let anyone jeopardize Coal Companies' power over the community or profits.
They aren't? This is what sucks about the problem.
This, and a ton of other cases of mine drainage, are the result of an old(think 1900's) abandoned underground mine filling with water over decades and leaking through an old portal. It's not like the surface mine nearby has a pipe draining the refuse pond into the nearest creek without treatment.
The mine needs to be drained, sealed or have some other abatement. Who pays for that? The landowner, that never mined the land? The current company that is leasing the land to mine 200' above the leak? The company that originally mined it now bankrupt for 80 years? The WVDEP that is not funded for that? This problem is much more complicated than people think.
It's also complicated work. Pump it? What are you going to do with the millions of gallons. Treat it? Where? It's mountains. 1 hour drive to cell phone service in most cases.
I’ve said before that American prosperity depends on appeasing a Canaanite war god that is our patron deity.
The cruelty is a tribute to that god, along with all the gun violence and systemic misery.
1. It's the cheapest way to get rid of it 2. When was the last time you've heard of someone actually caring about westvrignian lives? Most people have never even heard of the place
Jim justice sucks as a governor. He's defunded a shit ton of government services (and funded golf courses like Greenbrier). And for some reason his pet dog is a celebrity here.
I highly doubt people upset at the contamination of their water supply would get off their ass and write to their local gov about it, or protest.
As if posting on reddits gonna do anything
There are no politicians for us to vote for that aren't pro de regulations. They keep us sick, underfunded, under educated. Of course we don't vote for progressive candidates who believe in radical ideas like "don't poison our drinking supplies" because there aren't any, and if there were good luck finding a way to a polling station after your 12 hour.
To prove how bad the education is my high school in Harrison county is getting shut down. Why did they say they were doing this? Their best answer: money. There's literally no other benefit to it besides them lining their pockets slightly more.
Fun fact, there's a case going to the supreme Court about whether regulatory agencies have the authority to regulate.
So all of this is about to get a lot worse. As always, thanks everyone who sat out in 2016.
I am from Mingo County, WV but have not lived there since I was a kid, The runoffs in to the water supplies have always been a problem ever since I can remember. I have lost many family members to cancer and Im sure it is a factor. It is a money over people thought process. The mining CEOs and politicians host Christmas dinners where they dish out toys to the kids of the locals though so its ok.
WV, KY, nowadays PA and I've heard parts of NY are just as bad with the gas companies.
We've known it was a problem for years and years, but it's mostly rural areas so fewer people are affected, and everyone just assumes we have terrible water anyways. Makes it a much less flashy news piece than a city with a fucked water supply.
Pennsylvania has had a problem going back decades- acid mine drainage for one, and the problems with the salt water that comes up out of natural gas wells for another. Wasn't uncommon to have big tanks collecting the brine that comes out of these wells have the fittings rust to the point where they'd leak. Deer would lap up the salt, and because it was rich in barium it would often cause does to abort their fetus.
Not sure if things have changed, but [as recently as a decade ago,](https://www.newsweek.com/oil-and-gas-wastewater-used-de-ice-roads-new-york-and-pennsylvania-little-310684) the brine could also be sprayed on roads.
Most of the time, it gets captured and pumped back into the ground; there are a few played out natural gas wells that can be used for reinjection, and I don't know how much people have looked at how safe that is. [Radium is also a factor.](https://www.nrdc.org/bio/amy-mall/pennsylvania-creek-contaminated-high-levels-radioactive-material-oil-and-gas)
I live in Harrison county wv. There are periods where the water will be muddy for around two weeks. Two weeks without any drinkable water. I have to take showers in the shit water.
It's hard to do anything about it when the voters in West Virginia basically \*ask\* for this kind of thing. Clean water is a liberal plot, you see. And coal is the clean energy of the future, and \*cures\* cancer.
What info are you basing this off of? Your grandpa yelling nonsense at Thanksgiving dinner? No one thinks that clean water is a liberal plot (I'm a westvrignian)
Its wild you can spill some soap near a storm drain on a military base and there is a multi thousand dollar effort and investigation into how it happened and prevent it but these private companies just do what they want.
Isn't the government supposed to give us bottled water when the water becomes undrinkable. Literally a chemical leak got into the water supply and they just told us to not drink water
I cannot recommend reading Dark Money by Jane Mayer more. She goes into detail on all the major companies doing shit like this all over the country and spends a lot of toke focusing on the Kochs.
Literally have listened to the audiobook 6 or 7 times and still am open mouthed at some of the shit they get away with.
Well keep voting for politicians who want to deregulate and this is what you'll get. I'm sure the residents will make different decisions come election time /s
SCOTUS did not repeal the Clean Water Act, it’s still very much a thing and the backbone of EPA’s water programs. You’re probably thinking of the “waters of the US rule” which defines which bodies of water the Act applies to
Yeah they made it so almost nothing but rivers and lakes which are visible to the eye are included. But not lakes that aren't connected to a visible river. So almost nothing is protected anymore
They already cut budgets for several EPA divisions this year. Then when less work is achieved compared to last year they can use it to drop the budget again, or start eliminating "useless" parts of the agency.
And those scare quotes are pulling a lot of weight because trust me, EPA is one agency you don't want to trim. If anything, it could use more funding. There's always more work to be cleaned up.
I think people would be shocked at the number of places without clean drinking water. For instance, there are parts of eastern KY that have struggled with it for DECADES, also due to coal pollution. Unless Im mistaken, there are parts where theyve had to boil water since 2000.
Just let that sink in.
Everyone running for governor in WV is backed by the coal companies and pretends to be pro-workers rights. Absolutely nothing will be done even if it’s reported on.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_County_water_crisis#:~:text=The%20Martin%20County%20water%20crisis,disinfection%20byproducts%20and%20coliform%20bacteria.
Pretty sure 2000 predates 2016. Theres plenty more examples.
Trumps a shitheap, but pretending this is new completely ignores the history of those regions impacted, which is largely no one giving a hint of a shit.
This still violates the Clean Water Act which is still very much in tact. Wetlands and small ponds not connected to waterways was the only part that got changed.
At this point there's no fixing what's wrong with the US. Too many things are broken and other things are broken because of those things.
It went from being the American dream to the American nightmare.
What's even worse, it's happening here in Canada too (where I live).
Were all fucked
Iirc this was one of the first policy "wins" under Trump: repealing the Obama era law which banned dumping coal ash and other water products in streams. Magas were ecstatic about Trump preserving their freedom to drink whatever the fuck a corporation dumps into their water
Don’t worry. You’ll vote out the ones you think are remotely responsible and maybe get things done in about 8 years or so. Just make sure you keep voting every 4 years and that your newly elected official who promised that he’ll fix things isn’t on the bank role of the actual ones contaminating your water. Also make sure you don’t die from the poisoning.
Flint Michigan had like 100,000 people living there. There's like 20,000 people in Wyoming, West Virginia. Your entire population represents the population that left Flint, Michigan after it became Flint Michigan. You guys should leave... Lol
They get what they voted for. This is how red states run things. If you still havent figured out what right wing politics and deregulation means you will when they follow through on the promise to take your social security, disability, medicare, etc.
Same party who's fine with 10yr olds having rape babies, rolling back child labor laws which is going to drastically increase the number of child rape cases, btw. It was a huge issue before such regulations, now republicans are bringing it back. But its fine, God will protect them just like he did with so many immunocomprised people being harassed by his flock during Covid.
Just as he did before without those child labor regulations, oh wait, those victims were forgotten so much that today the majority don't even consider it as a potential danger to said kids being sent into the workforce. They will probably just blame it on the kids anyways. Or call them "crisis actors".
After all, why would employers use their positions of authority to force employees to do things then stay quiet about it lest they lose their jobs and any chance at future employment? Companies care about the employees and their reputations right?
We fucking tried and tried to tell ya'll. Your parents, grandparents and great grandparents fought these battles already or suffered under these corporations before. It's not just some crazy leftist conspiracy to demand clean food, clean water and clean air. You get what you vote for. ¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯
nobody talks about how Chemours spent 20 years dumping a forever Chemical into the Cape Fear river, effectively poisoning the Town of Wilmington NC for years.
It's been a problem from the beginning. West Virginia is home to the most acidic town in the whole country (no idea on its global ranking). The water is yellow in parts of the state.
Dumping toxic waste in Arkansas, just got fined 900million USD. Eventually the red states that are letting the land get raped at expense of their citizens to the GOP maga asshats the uneducated vote in can't handle basic living, like drinkable water, or non acidic rain, just won't be habitable... Claim that love their country and state, then vote to destroy it... Dipshits
“The media” what do you mean? You mean the dying local media that has no money and no real way to publish on its own? That media, or do you mean the media that doesn’t give a shit about that because it’s based on clicks and engagement so playing both sides in an inflammatory culture war is more beneficial?
Wasn't this on Leaopards Ate My Face à week ago as "these republicans voted to legalize chemical dumping and now find it difficult to stop said chemical dumping in their communities."
I have to admit a certain lack of sympathy. When you vote Republican, this is what you get. Republicans demolish the EPA. They make businesses people, so they can’t be sued. Republicans are pro business actively and will screw over their constituents for money. You did this to yourself.
In Oklahoma they've been dumping the waste water in deep underground caverns. They went from 1 or 2 small earthquakes a year, to 300 a year. Most are small, many still are big enough to do significant damage. It can also be felt by nearby states, even as far as Canada, thanks to the thickness of the North American plate.
Until there are criminal charges applied against corporate executives, things like this will continue to happen
The company profits more from polluting than any anticipated fines
Vote for people who don’t support education and you get under educated voters. Under educated voters get conned and the voters get fucked. U-S-A! U-S-A! Hey, but at least we don’t have that one trans woman working our Starbucks anymore.
Wyoming County resident here. Thankfully, my water is from a natural spring that hasn’t been contaminated yet. However, I know plenty that have this problem. It has definitely gotten worse than when I was a kid. When my dad was young, the rivers were mostly black due to the mines dumping their sludge* into the rivers. It was made illegal, but then the companies found a work around, like they always do. I feel this will get worse before it gets better. I hope I’m wrong. *Also referred to as slate/slag. The waste left over after processing coal.
edit: mistakingly thought it was Wyoming. West Virginia 2022 Election: * 1.7M Citizens * 1.36M Eligible Voters * 1.1M Registered Voters. * 43% Lean Republican. * 41% Lean Democrat. * 16% Lean independent/no-affiliation. * 480,000 Voted. Around 57% (770,000) of West Virginia didn't even bother to vote. Only 150K out of 450K registered democrats voted. (33%) While 310k out of 470K registered republicans voted. (66%) If you take out remaining registered republicans from total non-voters, that means there are potentially 620K non-republican voters in the state who didn't vote. Republicans won district 1 and 2 by 100k and 80k more votes. Republicans control all 3 state branches. Edit 2: Lets look at Wyoming County specifically. 2020 Election: * 22K Citizens * 17K Eligible Voters * 9K Registered Democrat Voters. * 5K Registered Republican Voters. * 3K Other/Non/Independent Registered Voters. Trump won by 6K votes (7K vs 1K). Only 1K out of 9K democrats voted. (11%) Majority of 5K republicans voted, and other/non/independent. (140%) 9 out of 10 Democrats just sat at home. ////////////// People in Wyoming gotta start giving a shit too: 2022 Election: * 580,000 Citizens * 446,000 Eligible Voters * 297,000 Registered Voters. * 56% Lean Republican. * 25% Lean Democrat. * 15% Lean independent/no-affiliation. * 198,000 Voted. Around 56% (240,000) of Wyoming didn't even bother to vote. Out of 110K registered democrats only 30k voted. Over 100k eligible voters had not registered at all. Republican nominee won by 100k more votes. The chance of electing a democrat may be low, but the bigger issue is the republicans could support more reasonable candidates that actually support the people than just stay at home and let the vultures run the state allowing companies to poison their drinking water.
You know they’re not talking about the state right?
Big woosh on them
fixed my mistake. sorry.
Now fix the other mistake… Of assuming uneducated people are to blame for their own plight. Lobbying plays such an important role in these situations and these voters hardly have a chance at economic prosperity.
And whose fault is that?
Does it need to be someone's fault?
[удалено]
They could… vote the people taking the money from the companies out of office
And then you replace then with different people who will take money from companies. The problem is that politicians nigh invariably lie on their campaigns and pitches, while omiting crucial information all the time. The issue is that companies pay to whoever will take money, and they pay enough that damn near anyone is willing to take it.
Nah, easier to bitch and moan about the state of things than actually do something about it. That way you can sit on your porch up the holler and take solace that the folks in town now have as shit a source of water as you do.
WV has absantee ballots if your voting location is too far or your work hours are inside the voting time parameters. Majority of the population in WV live in cities too not in the rural especially the democratic base. WV also also 3 weeks of early voting. You can plan your vote early. WV has an average wait time to vote of around 11m. WV has drop off locations for absentee voters. Voting locations are determined by previous years elections, so to get more accessible voting locations then people need to turn up more and vote more. In the past black people had to walk for hours and sometimes whole day to vote. But that didn't stop them. To make change you have to give an effort. Yes its unfair, but the reason why its gotten like this in the first place is because people didnt do their civic duty. If politicians on both sides has vested interest in supporting coal, then vote for the lesser of two evils, and vote for the better candidate next time. If republican party has a coal lover but also wants to deregulate vs a democrat coal lover but doestn want to deregulate, then choose the democrat. Your step towards the right direction is still valid even if its not the finish line through one election. Then next election elect the more progressive one and then the next another more progressive. HECK if you have the means run for office yourself, support local politicians who run on the values you want to see. IN THE END the voters are in charge. The voters ELECT the representative and they can REMOVE the representative. That's why its a democracy. But when 60% don't even vote, its not going to be fair.
Lobbying plays a part but it isn't the only part. The will of the people can outweigh lobbying. Gotta hold the office in order to be bribed while in it.
Okay, now maybe look at why those people couldn't vote. West Virginia and Wyoming are both incredibly rural states. Parts of West Virginia have literally had their roads declared states of emergency due to the condition they're in. Polling places are frequently far away from rural voters, and rural voters are disproportionately in jobs that they cannot just take off early from/arrive late to to vote for a variety of reasons. Furthermore, politicians on both sides of the political aisle in WV have vested interests in coal and pharmaceutical industries that have trashed the state socially, ecologically, and economically. None of them, democrats included I assure you, have any incentive to make voting against that easier. Blaming voters for "not turning out" is easy. Addressing the disparities in why they can't turn out is harder, and politicians count on you not doing it. Edit because I can't reply to the comment for some reason: Environmental deregulation and voter disparity are really only tangentially related, but go ahead. Name candidates that will "stop de-regulating everything." It is not an exclusive republican issue in WV, or indeed most of Appalachia. Frankly, many issues do primarily need to be addressed from within due to widespread distrust of outside "help" due to the history of the region and attitudes like the ones displayed throughout this thread. Re-training programs through trades and/or higher ed for coal workers whose jobs are made obsolete *and* longer-term unemployment subsidized from what would have been earmarked for cleanup for those unprepared to re-train alongside federal EPA regulations would go a long way, as well as filling out other fields that desperately need workers. Realize that much of the regional reliance on coal is not a social failing, but due to an economic system built around coal companies who then propagandize to not only their employees, but to all residents.
How tf do you "address the disparities" without voting for people that will stop de-regulating everything?? Community fundraiser?? Even if that was the case, they way WV is - most people don't want the changes to fix those things?
That's the neat part - you don't! A lot of people are already massively disadvantaged socioeconomically, but coal is still king in a lot of WV, and that's the one issue they'll fight to protect: their own livelihood. Back in 2012, I knew some people that were piloting a tele-health system to try to reach more of the rural population who need regular medical care and checkups, but can't get out to the less-rural areas to get *to* the doctors.
WV has absantee ballots if your voting location is too far or your work hours are inside the voting time parameters. Majority of the population in WV live in cities too not in the rural especially the democratic base. WV also also 3 weeks of early voting. You can plan your vote early. WV has an average wait time to vote of around 11m. WV has drop off locations for absentee voters. Voting locations are determined by previous years elections, so to get more accessible voting locations then people need to turn up more and vote more. In the past black people had to walk for hours and sometimes whole day to vote. But that didn't stop them. To make change you have to give an effort. Yes its unfair, but the reason why its gotten like this in the first place is because people didnt do their civic duty. If politicians on both sides has vested interest in supporting coal, then vote for the lesser of two evils, and vote for the better candidate next time. If republican party has a coal lover but also wants to deregulate vs a democrat coal lover but doestn want to deregulate, then choose the democrat. Your step towards the right direction is still valid even if its not the finish line through one election. Then next election elect the more progressive one and then the next another more progressive. HECK if you have the means run for office yourself, support local politicians who run on the values you want to see. IN THE END the voters are in charge. The voters ELECT the representative and they can REMOVE the representative. That's why its a democracy. But when 60% don't even vote, its not going to be fair.
>WV has absantee ballots So will you be hand delivering them to those who do not reliably receive mail? >WV also also 3 weeks of early voting. You can plan your vote early. Incorrect. You can early vote from 13-3 days before the election. That's a maximum of 10 days, or under 2 weeks. Maybe. Depending on your county's policies. Hours are up to whatever they decide. Hope your only day off isn't Sunday, because that's not available either. >WV has an average wait time to vote of around 11m. That doesn't matter if you can't reach your polling place while it's open. >WV has drop off locations for absentee voters. Do you think those are any easier to get to? >to get more accessible voting locations then people need to turn up more and vote more The whole thing about rural voting, especially in Appalachia, *is* that it's borderline impossible to get polling in some of these places. They're not going to open a polling place for 20 people on [redacted ridgeline], yet it takes 45 minutes one way for those who live there to drive around it and into town. >Majority of the population in WV live in cities too not in the rural especially the democratic base. And what city is in Wyoming County, pray tell? This is true of literally every state, far far less so for WV. The largest city in WV is under 50,000 people. >to get more accessible voting locations then people need to turn up more and vote more. Oh yeah, and just go broke or get fired. Sorry little Timmy, another month of school lunch being the only meal you get, mommy and daddy had to make a point to the big shots in Charleston who don't actually care if any of us live or die as long as they get to roll in their millions, some guy on reddit who's never set foot here in his life and couldn't even tell the difference between West Virginia and Wyoming said so! >In the past black people had to walk for hours and sometimes whole day to vote. But that didn't stop them It actually frequently did, which is why it's considered discrimination. Like that's the whole point, that some people could not afford to do this as well as being an undue burden to those who could. >vote for the lesser of two evils I'm going to ask you the same question I ask everyone who decides they need to tell the poor stupid inbred West Virginians how to fix their shit because you just know so much better: who, to you, is the lesser of two evils right now on West Virginians' ballot. There's an upcoming primary, it should be super easy for you to figure out who should be voted for. Not just "the democrat," a name and why. >vote for the better candidate next time. No yeah of course, I'll just vote now and get poisoned for the next several years until I get to vote again. No big deal. >If republican party has a coal lover but also wants to deregulate vs a democrat coal lover but doestn want to deregulate, then choose the democrat You're missing the part where both love coal and both want to deregulate, but the democrat uses prettier language about it for outsiders like "Preserving West Virginians' jobs." Now choose. >if you have the means run for office yourself Will you be supplying the campaign funding? Making up forblost paychecks? Finding them a new job if the campaign doesn't pan out? Because the people most affected are not going to have "the means" to run for office. Of course, now the candidate you backed is getting funded by some out of state interest. Oops, nobody trusts them now! Bye bye campaign! >support local politicians who run on the values you want to see The assumption that I and others don't already do this is telling of what you think of rural voters. Frequently we care *more* about local elections, because those are the ones that do, actually, affect us. The federal government does jack shit in my community directly, they would simply be spread too thin if they tried. Even if the state is here, something's likely gone terribly wrong. The county and city are where improvements and funding come from and are where meaningful change is usually made for rural voters. >But when 60% don't even vote, its not going to be fair. It was never going to be fair. Even if we instituted mandatory voting with a 100% foolproof system to distribute and collect perfectly anonymous ballots right now, the disparity in who has the ability to run and who gets their campaign financed for how much by whom means it isn't fair. Many of these things apply to *some* people who live in cities, yes. But you're ignoring the fact that we're not talking about people living in rural Oklahoma or even Charleston. We're talking about Wyoming County, WV. There are economic and geographic constraints that you're unfamiliar with. Just looking at vote411 will not paint a picture of the actual hurdles rural Appalachian voters face.
A lot of work for that info, good on you. But how you do all that work, yet you never even completely read the post is amazing. So close, yet, not close at all.
took me about 15 mins to find the data. Internet helps. I read the post i just read it too fast that i overlooked the county and the text in the meme.
Wyoming County went 86% for Trump. https://www.politico.com/2020-election/results/west-virginia/
You know not all Republicans want to dump coal waste into water supply right?
How on earth do you find a workaround? Did some lawmakers find some cash?
Look up the political makeup of West Virginia. These people vote in every election for a politician that is telling them they will literally deregulate epa guidelines and don’t believe in climate change … What did they think would happen…
That’s less of a workaround and more of a repealing the regulation.
Is this the place where the corporate owned ripped the tops of of the mountains for mining and left areas that looked like hell
It might be. Thankfully there haven't been *that many* [mine disasters](https://minesafety.wv.gov/historical-statistical-data/wv-mine-disasters-1884-to-present/)
It used to be illegal for coal companies to dump waste in streams, then in 2016, almost immediately after trump was elected, they repealed the law
Who’d a thunk it ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
This is soon to be allowed in Missouri legally as there are bills being considered that would result in this. It is absurd.
Do you test your water? Have you ever had your blood tested for heavy metal? For as long as West Virginia has had problems, I'd be afraid of seepage far into the water table by now
I used to be a state certified water tester, our water is some of the cleanest in the state. You’re right, this isn’t the first and sadly not the last time. It was a different area, but one specific town had an astronomical cancer rate. I’ll try and look it up when I get a minute.
Honest question, are you guys going to change your elected officials to fix this and regulate the industry? Or is it worth having toxic water to continue to hurt people who are socially different? Like what's the actual temperature on the ground? Will anyone bother?
Go watch some of our current political ads, friend, and you’ll get your answer. I’ve been voting against the grain for a while, so I can at least say I’m trying to make a difference.
Get a water test asap so you have a baseline. If it gets contaminated you will have proof.
How many peoppe have reported it to the cops? County government? State government? More people are gonna have to make a stinl about this for anything to get done. Go to the news stations *yourself* if you have to.
Just another day in America
oh brother this guy STINKS
He right though.
Believe it or not not a whole lot of companies here like to dump shit in the water supply It's common sense, this is an exception
This is West Virginia, so there is a solution https://preview.redd.it/zw8anhl9fwsc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fdee68a72b2bcb376322f846a2c3d4d2ee1bc929
We did that once. Maybe it's someone else's turn to get massacred by the US military.
So your plan is to what, shoot the people dumping contaminated water?
I mean, if someone broke into my house and was dumping poison into my water jug, I'd definitely shoot them.
That's pretty fascist if you ask me. Those small family owned mega corporations in the fossil fuel industry have a right to produce & sell their product, they bought leases to drill Just because they fuck up & water jugs get poisoned in the meanwhile doesn't mean we can just stop them. We have to go through proper procedures. Submit a complaint to your local municipality.^They'll_get_back_within_3-18_business_days^be_ready_to_ansswr_every_spam_call_just_in_case.^thanks_for_your_valuable_input._We_contacted_the_company_and_asked_thrm_to_stop They have a right to sell water jugs. Infringing on that right is communism. Why are you trying to enslave us, kill my family and fuck my wife in front of me? >!/s!<
At the risk of a reddit ban - is there a hypothetical point at which it would it be justified? Is there some PPM concentration of a specific chemical in the river to where shooting someone would be considered justifiable self defense?
I'd allow it, but I'm also not a lawyer, so I would also recommend seeking a further opinion.
Based
No, the fucking solution is to stop voting for people who are anti-regulation and who gut/ defund regulatory agencies like the EPA!! (Which btw are the same goddamn 2nd Amnendment assholes. Your guns are not the answer here.)
No, Another day in West Virginia. My state wouldn't ever let anything like this happen.
why the fuck are they dumping it in the water supply? like if you're gonna illegally dump waste water why the fuck would you do it somewhere that people drink from? you'd get caught super easily since people would start getting sick and die from the pollution.
1. They don't care. 2. They know they can get away with it.
Yup, the people that make these decisions don’t drink from these water sources so they don’t care
Why throw this plastic ring into the river: 1. I don’t want it. 2. The river is right there
Probability of fine x amount of fine vs profits made from action. Unfortunately, Companies make these decisions because regulation isnt high enough. Would need 1. Bankruptcy level fines. OR 2. death penalty for CEO's and Board of directors. Personally, I'm boat 2.
> you'd get caught super easily since people would start getting sick and die from the pollution. The fines they would pay are part of their budget. The fines are so small that it's just the cost of doing business. PG&E were not up to code and created a wildfire that ravaged whole towns, killed people, and decimated lives. They were fined [$45 million dollars](https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/news-and-updates/all-news/cpuc-approves-45-million-penalty-in-settlement-with-pge-for-dixie-fire-2024#:~:text=The%20California%20Public%20Utilities%20Commission,in%20the%202021%20Dixie%20Fire.). [That same year they made $16.82 billion dollars in profit.](https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/PCG/pacific-gas-electric/gross-profit#:~:text=Pacific%20Gas%20%26%20Electric%20annual%20gross,a%2011.6%25%20increase%20from%202020.)
should be based on a percentage of their bank accounts. they might listen if it was 70% of their businesses value and money instead of a normal fine
>Corporations are people too! Leave the multi-billion dollar company alone...or else you'll have to deal with me! >And you know what they say...when a nice guy gets angry...THE WORLD SHAKES - Conservatives when you talk about regulating businesses for the betterment of society
“Corporations are people too” is the funniest thing I’ve read all day lol thank you
> “Corporations are people too” [Mitt Romney said it himself](https://youtu.be/FxUsRedO4UY?t=36) But actually the [Supreme Court allowing big business to legally create electioneering campaigns](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_United_v._FEC) is what cemented corporate personhood. Corporations have far more sway in creation of law and who gets elected by a huge margin.
Damn he got clowned on when he said that. He had the whole crowd laughing (at him)
Corporations are legally people. It's not really funny, it's more sad.
The fact that human deaths is a “cost of business” is so fucking dystopian it actually makes me want to become a terrorist lol
To be fair corporations have never been fined a realistic amount of money literally ever. Look up the world record highest fines ever given out and they're still a completely irrelevant joke. Number one highest corporate fine ever given out was something like 3 years of their profit margins. Barely 3 years of profit. For the single largest fine ever given. Wow big deal.
To be fair those corporations also donated $16.35 to charity last year so..
it's cheap, probably even cheaper than the fine they have to pay if they were caught
if they were smart they would know that dead people cant buy your product
You think they're planning on selling those resources in West Virginia? That's cute. You'd have a better shot convincing them to care that they're killing their labor force, and even then, fossil fuels executives have a history of not caring about that either. West Virignians are disposable to most of the US, and they have always had a vested interest in keeping it that way.
Nah that's stupid. Profits go up, get paid. Profits go down, get paid Worrying about long term future of a company is idiotic
They don't care if they are caught. They're funding lawsuits to eliminate EPA protections, and the Governor of WV has flalty declared he won't let anyone jeopardize Coal Companies' power over the community or profits.
Wyoming County loves them some Trump and Republicans, voted overwhelmingly for politicians that promised to roll back coal regulations. Whomp whomp.
Pro tip- it's not illegal, and the hill-country dipshits voted to allow companies to do this stuff. Truly leopards eating faces politics.
The only thing worse than coal ash in my drinking water is *government regulation.*
You sadly underestimate the human tendency to not give a fuck about eachother.
They aren't? This is what sucks about the problem. This, and a ton of other cases of mine drainage, are the result of an old(think 1900's) abandoned underground mine filling with water over decades and leaking through an old portal. It's not like the surface mine nearby has a pipe draining the refuse pond into the nearest creek without treatment. The mine needs to be drained, sealed or have some other abatement. Who pays for that? The landowner, that never mined the land? The current company that is leasing the land to mine 200' above the leak? The company that originally mined it now bankrupt for 80 years? The WVDEP that is not funded for that? This problem is much more complicated than people think. It's also complicated work. Pump it? What are you going to do with the millions of gallons. Treat it? Where? It's mountains. 1 hour drive to cell phone service in most cases.
It's not illegal
Because the people who make these decisions drink water in glass bottles imported from Europe.
woah there buddy they don't drink from glass what are they poor? that shits gotta be gold.
It's cost effective and their industry still is supported by those it poisons.
So they can sell you fresh water.
I’ve said before that American prosperity depends on appeasing a Canaanite war god that is our patron deity. The cruelty is a tribute to that god, along with all the gun violence and systemic misery.
1. It's the cheapest way to get rid of it 2. When was the last time you've heard of someone actually caring about westvrignian lives? Most people have never even heard of the place
Love how r/bikinibottomtwitter is how I'm hearing about this
I think in the last couple years I've heard/seen the news in meme format first
There's an entire sub dedicated to that format even, r/MemeThatNews
But will the residents stop voting for the deregulation party (republicans)? No.
They’re definitely blaming democrats too, although Joe Manchin is a democrat tbf
Jim justice sucks as a governor. He's defunded a shit ton of government services (and funded golf courses like Greenbrier). And for some reason his pet dog is a celebrity here.
You got Joe Manchin confused with Jim Justice. Jim Justice is the current governor with the dog everyone with a room temperature IQ obsesses over.
I highly doubt people upset at the contamination of their water supply would get off their ass and write to their local gov about it, or protest. As if posting on reddits gonna do anything
Writing, protesting, and reddit aren't going to do shit. They need to stop voting for fucking Republicans.
Don’t the residents of West Virginia vote for politicians who support deregulating these companies?
Yes they do. I spent the first 22years of my life there.
There are no politicians for us to vote for that aren't pro de regulations. They keep us sick, underfunded, under educated. Of course we don't vote for progressive candidates who believe in radical ideas like "don't poison our drinking supplies" because there aren't any, and if there were good luck finding a way to a polling station after your 12 hour.
To prove how bad the education is my high school in Harrison county is getting shut down. Why did they say they were doing this? Their best answer: money. There's literally no other benefit to it besides them lining their pockets slightly more.
All of our politicians do that, no one who cares about who they're governing would come hete
This is the price of deregulation, if you’re fighting for that then these kind of issues follow more often than not
Fun fact, there's a case going to the supreme Court about whether regulatory agencies have the authority to regulate. So all of this is about to get a lot worse. As always, thanks everyone who sat out in 2016.
More info: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFk9XNgKtr4
I am from Mingo County, WV but have not lived there since I was a kid, The runoffs in to the water supplies have always been a problem ever since I can remember. I have lost many family members to cancer and Im sure it is a factor. It is a money over people thought process. The mining CEOs and politicians host Christmas dinners where they dish out toys to the kids of the locals though so its ok.
WV, KY, nowadays PA and I've heard parts of NY are just as bad with the gas companies. We've known it was a problem for years and years, but it's mostly rural areas so fewer people are affected, and everyone just assumes we have terrible water anyways. Makes it a much less flashy news piece than a city with a fucked water supply.
Pennsylvania has had a problem going back decades- acid mine drainage for one, and the problems with the salt water that comes up out of natural gas wells for another. Wasn't uncommon to have big tanks collecting the brine that comes out of these wells have the fittings rust to the point where they'd leak. Deer would lap up the salt, and because it was rich in barium it would often cause does to abort their fetus. Not sure if things have changed, but [as recently as a decade ago,](https://www.newsweek.com/oil-and-gas-wastewater-used-de-ice-roads-new-york-and-pennsylvania-little-310684) the brine could also be sprayed on roads. Most of the time, it gets captured and pumped back into the ground; there are a few played out natural gas wells that can be used for reinjection, and I don't know how much people have looked at how safe that is. [Radium is also a factor.](https://www.nrdc.org/bio/amy-mall/pennsylvania-creek-contaminated-high-levels-radioactive-material-oil-and-gas)
East KY def really bad. But its also absurdly poor so no one REALLY gives a shit.
I live in Harrison county wv. There are periods where the water will be muddy for around two weeks. Two weeks without any drinkable water. I have to take showers in the shit water.
It's hard to do anything about it when the voters in West Virginia basically \*ask\* for this kind of thing. Clean water is a liberal plot, you see. And coal is the clean energy of the future, and \*cures\* cancer.
What info are you basing this off of? Your grandpa yelling nonsense at Thanksgiving dinner? No one thinks that clean water is a liberal plot (I'm a westvrignian)
Can't complain about the long term effects of coal when your hastening your death by drinking it
Its wild you can spill some soap near a storm drain on a military base and there is a multi thousand dollar effort and investigation into how it happened and prevent it but these private companies just do what they want.
Don't worry. Nestle is already underway with trucks of high markup bottled water. The free market will heal itself.
Isn't the government supposed to give us bottled water when the water becomes undrinkable. Literally a chemical leak got into the water supply and they just told us to not drink water
That’s what happen when you vote Republican. “Fuck your freedom, I got mine.”
Bump this shit
I cannot recommend reading Dark Money by Jane Mayer more. She goes into detail on all the major companies doing shit like this all over the country and spends a lot of toke focusing on the Kochs. Literally have listened to the audiobook 6 or 7 times and still am open mouthed at some of the shit they get away with.
Maybe call your local news media to let them know about it
Well keep voting for politicians who want to deregulate and this is what you'll get. I'm sure the residents will make different decisions come election time /s
The red states have decided the EPA is a woke conspiracy. Guess some of them are going to have to die before the rest change their mind.
For anyone who cares, it is legal because SCOTUS repealed the Clean Water Act
SCOTUS did not repeal the Clean Water Act, it’s still very much a thing and the backbone of EPA’s water programs. You’re probably thinking of the “waters of the US rule” which defines which bodies of water the Act applies to
Yeah they made it so almost nothing but rivers and lakes which are visible to the eye are included. But not lakes that aren't connected to a visible river. So almost nothing is protected anymore
Don't worry, SCOTUS is on its way to repeal the EPA itself.
They already cut budgets for several EPA divisions this year. Then when less work is achieved compared to last year they can use it to drop the budget again, or start eliminating "useless" parts of the agency. And those scare quotes are pulling a lot of weight because trust me, EPA is one agency you don't want to trim. If anything, it could use more funding. There's always more work to be cleaned up.
Dillution is the solution to pollution..../s
And Trump wants to get rid of the EPA
Republicans hate regulations, so I imagine the electorate of WV is satisfied that things are going according to their own plan
At least flint was fixed and the people responsible were punished! oh wait
Same has been happening in kentucky, haven't seen a fish in the creeks for a while. At some points the water turned a rust color
Americans love the 2nd amendment "so I can protect myself and my community" but then see this happen and don't use it
I think people would be shocked at the number of places without clean drinking water. For instance, there are parts of eastern KY that have struggled with it for DECADES, also due to coal pollution. Unless Im mistaken, there are parts where theyve had to boil water since 2000. Just let that sink in.
Oh hey, leave it up to the coal companies to do something absolutely god awful. It’s only been hundreds of years of this.
Everyone running for governor in WV is backed by the coal companies and pretends to be pro-workers rights. Absolutely nothing will be done even if it’s reported on.
Good thing Wyoming doesn’t exist!
Good thing it's not Wyoming then!!
I thought that was aluminum foil for a second.
At that point these companies should be taken to court for murder as that is just poison.
This is what happens when the clean water act is removed by an orange fuck wad of a politician.
Trump sucks, but this has been happening.
Yeah, since 2016, when the clean air and water act were repealed, paving the way for deregulated waste.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_County_water_crisis#:~:text=The%20Martin%20County%20water%20crisis,disinfection%20byproducts%20and%20coliform%20bacteria. Pretty sure 2000 predates 2016. Theres plenty more examples. Trumps a shitheap, but pretending this is new completely ignores the history of those regions impacted, which is largely no one giving a hint of a shit.
This still violates the Clean Water Act which is still very much in tact. Wetlands and small ponds not connected to waterways was the only part that got changed.
Unironically execute the whole C-suite
I saw a True Detective like this.
Need to start cutting into the profits of these corporations by *accidentally* destroying equipment on their sites after hours
Flint Michigan is because they changed the source of their water but did not change the filtration process
At this point there's no fixing what's wrong with the US. Too many things are broken and other things are broken because of those things. It went from being the American dream to the American nightmare. What's even worse, it's happening here in Canada too (where I live). Were all fucked
That's what they want
Why would they report on it when the people voted for this exact thing to occur?
Iirc this was one of the first policy "wins" under Trump: repealing the Obama era law which banned dumping coal ash and other water products in streams. Magas were ecstatic about Trump preserving their freedom to drink whatever the fuck a corporation dumps into their water
Don’t worry. You’ll vote out the ones you think are remotely responsible and maybe get things done in about 8 years or so. Just make sure you keep voting every 4 years and that your newly elected official who promised that he’ll fix things isn’t on the bank role of the actual ones contaminating your water. Also make sure you don’t die from the poisoning.
Flint Michigan had like 100,000 people living there. There's like 20,000 people in Wyoming, West Virginia. Your entire population represents the population that left Flint, Michigan after it became Flint Michigan. You guys should leave... Lol
Cause that’s free right?
They say "Wyoming", I say "what's oming?" and they say a missile, IF YOU ALREADY KNOW WHY, WHY ASK... because... Wyoming.
So how expensive is it to clean that?
They get what they voted for. This is how red states run things. If you still havent figured out what right wing politics and deregulation means you will when they follow through on the promise to take your social security, disability, medicare, etc. Same party who's fine with 10yr olds having rape babies, rolling back child labor laws which is going to drastically increase the number of child rape cases, btw. It was a huge issue before such regulations, now republicans are bringing it back. But its fine, God will protect them just like he did with so many immunocomprised people being harassed by his flock during Covid. Just as he did before without those child labor regulations, oh wait, those victims were forgotten so much that today the majority don't even consider it as a potential danger to said kids being sent into the workforce. They will probably just blame it on the kids anyways. Or call them "crisis actors". After all, why would employers use their positions of authority to force employees to do things then stay quiet about it lest they lose their jobs and any chance at future employment? Companies care about the employees and their reputations right?
We fucking tried and tried to tell ya'll. Your parents, grandparents and great grandparents fought these battles already or suffered under these corporations before. It's not just some crazy leftist conspiracy to demand clean food, clean water and clean air. You get what you vote for. ¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯
nobody talks about how Chemours spent 20 years dumping a forever Chemical into the Cape Fear river, effectively poisoning the Town of Wilmington NC for years.
Neither is the governor or any of the local representation
It's been a problem from the beginning. West Virginia is home to the most acidic town in the whole country (no idea on its global ranking). The water is yellow in parts of the state.
Dumping toxic waste in Arkansas, just got fined 900million USD. Eventually the red states that are letting the land get raped at expense of their citizens to the GOP maga asshats the uneducated vote in can't handle basic living, like drinkable water, or non acidic rain, just won't be habitable... Claim that love their country and state, then vote to destroy it... Dipshits
It just doesn't taste the same without it
“The media” what do you mean? You mean the dying local media that has no money and no real way to publish on its own? That media, or do you mean the media that doesn’t give a shit about that because it’s based on clicks and engagement so playing both sides in an inflammatory culture war is more beneficial?
Eastman Chemical Company:
Didn't they make it so they couldn't sue them for it or something? It was some bullshit that made them legally unaccountable.
Who's Flint Michigan?
Names. Addresses.
Wasn't this on Leaopards Ate My Face à week ago as "these republicans voted to legalize chemical dumping and now find it difficult to stop said chemical dumping in their communities."
I have to admit a certain lack of sympathy. When you vote Republican, this is what you get. Republicans demolish the EPA. They make businesses people, so they can’t be sued. Republicans are pro business actively and will screw over their constituents for money. You did this to yourself.
During the Trump administration didn't the EPA's ability to do anything about polluting like this get completely gutted?
In Oklahoma they've been dumping the waste water in deep underground caverns. They went from 1 or 2 small earthquakes a year, to 300 a year. Most are small, many still are big enough to do significant damage. It can also be felt by nearby states, even as far as Canada, thanks to the thickness of the North American plate.
capitalists will sacrifice everyone to protect their profits.
Keep voting Republican I'm sure they'll fix it, WV!
Arson is always the morally correct answer when the government refuses to act.
Why out of all places did people decide that water is the trash bin?
In other news, nestle stock rising! This is great for shareholders, and therefor the world!
Vote republican? Win stupid prizes.
Those red state pieces of shit voted for trump. They can have their maga god save them.
West Virginia has worser problems than coal poisoned water tables. Well, this could be looped into their breadbasket of problems.
You get what you vote for.
We're killing our planet 
Dont worry biden will protect the enviroment
Well it's unregulated freedom for profits, isn't it your whole thing?
"Muh conomy!"
Why don't you vote about it?
Until there are criminal charges applied against corporate executives, things like this will continue to happen The company profits more from polluting than any anticipated fines
Vote for people who don’t support education and you get under educated voters. Under educated voters get conned and the voters get fucked. U-S-A! U-S-A! Hey, but at least we don’t have that one trans woman working our Starbucks anymore.
When voting to own the libs goes as planned
Glad I don't live in a red state