West Virginia Governor Starting To Feel Like Maybe Rivers Shouldn't Be Filled With Poison

West Virginia Governor Starting To Feel Like Maybe Rivers Shouldn't Be Filled With Poison
Posted: 01/21/2014 5:44 pm EST

As residents of West Virginia perfect their ability to glance suspiciously at the water flowing from their taps, state lawmakers have officially whipped themselves into a lather of "Somebody do something!" And, as Reuters' Ian Simpson reports, that "something" may end up being legislation geared toward "tightening" the rules that have heretofore been noteworthy in their slackness.

The first foray into better regulation is being proposed by West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin (D), who said in a joint statement with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) Monday, "The discharge of chemicals or other contaminants into our water supply is unacceptable and will not be tolerated." This is a break with the status quo, in which a lax regulatory regime was pretty much deemed to be tolerable.

Why not gaze upon Tomblin's proposals, per Reuters, and steel yourself against the question you will inevitably have: "Wait, you mean that West Virginia regulators weren't doing this stuff already?"