Rockefeller Thanks Community for Coming Together During Water Crisis

Statement

During tonight's town hall event, at the Clay Center, Senator Jay Rockefeller applauded the Charleston community for its ongoing efforts to seek answers and accountability in the wake of a January 9th chemical spill along the Elk River. Rockefeller pledged his ongoing support for those whose lives are still disrupted by the ongoing crisis.

Rockefeller said public meetings, like the one being held tonight, send a clear message that West Virginians are united in the face of this crisis--and are demanding permanent change that ensures an incident like this never happens again.

"We are all wrestling with a number of questions about this awful incident, including how it happened and what could have been done to prevent it. I am committed to getting answers to these critically important questions and so many other questions that are still unanswered. But now, many of you are asking perhaps the most important question of all: what do we do now? That's why forums like this town hall are so important, and it's why I take every phone call, email and letter to my office very seriously. In fact, questions and concerns that I've heard directly from the community are helping to drive my response to this crisis.

"In response, I asked the Chemical Safety Board to investigate and secured additional resources to help the CSB run its investigation here. I asked the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to work on a joint study into the long-term health risks associated with MCHM. I asked West Virginia American Water to provide us with greater transparency and clarity in what the company is doing to minimize the risk to its customers. And I helped introduce several pieces of federal legislation to strengthen oversight, accountability and clean up efforts.

"West Virginia is a special place, and one that we all love dearly. We all want to continue raising our families here but that means never again having to worry about the quality of our water or our air. And so I hope these meetings will mobilize our communities like never before, so we can make West Virginia all that we know it can be. As I have done for the past fifty years, I stand ready to help every step of the way."

Source