West Virginia DEP Seeks Public Input on AST Rule

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection wants to include the public in the rule-making process for the Aboveground Storage Tank (AST) Program. The agency is releasing a rough draft of the program’s emergency rule to get feedback on ways to make it as thorough and effective as possible.

The document released today is an initial draft of the emergency rule that will be filed later this year, most likely in December, with the Secretary of State’s Office. It differs from the temporary interpretive rule filed last week in that it provides much more detail about the agency’s plans and expectations for the program going forward.

To read the rough draft of the emergency rule, go to the DEP’s Aboveground Storage Tank page, which is linked to from the agency’s home page: www.dep.wv.gov.

Members of industry groups, environmental groups and other members of the public who asked to be identified as stakeholders in the rulemaking process earlier this year are being invited to a working meeting on Oct. 1 to discuss the draft rule and ways to enhance its effectiveness.

Any other members of the public who would like to offer suggestions on ways to improve the rule can email those comments, by Oct. 24, to WVDEPtankrules@wv.gov or mail them to:
West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection – Public Information Office
AST Emergency Rule Comments
601 57th Street SE
Charleston, WV 25304