Legislature 2008: Streams

West Virginia continues to struggle to compile a list of waterways that merit a degree of protection.

At The Associated Press' Tom Breen reports, "in the midst of what has become an annual fight over how many streams warrant the protective status known as 'Tier 2.5,' lawmakers are concerned that if West Virginia doesn't act soon, the federal government will."

The fight is framed by a compromise that departs from federal guidelines. As Breen explains:

Initially, there were three (water quality) classifications, or tiers, with the first tier allowing the most pollution and the third being the most stringent about rejecting pollution... Lengthy debate in 2001 produced a compromise classification between the second and third tiers, with the state Department of Environmental Protection initially proposing some 444 streams be given the Tier 2.5 designation.

Lawmakers now spar over the length of the list.

"Last year, the Legislature settled on a list of 309, but that bill failed," AP reports. "This year the DEP returned with a slimmed-down list of 156 streams, but an interim committee bumped the number back up to 309. Landowners and industry groups say they to see the list reduced to the 38 streams that drew no public objections for Tier 2.5 classification."

The Charleston Gazette also reports on Tuesday's Senate debate on the topic.