Senate passes bill to narrow inspections under Above Ground Storage Tank law after heated debate

The West Virginia Senate on Friday passed an engrossed committee substitute for Senate Bill 592, changing how the state regulates certain above-ground storage tanks and limiting the number of DEP inspections in some cases.

Supporters said the bill rolls back what they described as an overbroad regulatory response and relieves smaller producers and some industry operators of inspection requirements. Opponents said the changes reduce protections for drinking-water sources by removing many tanks from the law27s inspection and oversight provisions.

Senator from Upshur said the committee substitute "scales back the authority of the above ground storage tank act by setting limits on the number of inspections that can be required by the DEP in certain circumstances." He also described how the bill removes categories of tanks from certified-professional inspections, replacing them with owner self-inspection and reporting.

The debate focused on the 2014 law that established statewide AST regulation after a chemical spill. "The AST Act, which is better called the Tank Act, passed in 02/2014," the Upshur senator said, and recounted current regulatory coverage: "Originally regulated 42,047 above ground storage tanks. Since that time 27...currently the tank Act27 regulates 4,566 tanks. That represents 10.8% of the tanks in the state." He warned the substitute would remove 866 tanks located in drinking-water critical zones and an additional 219 tanks from regulation, leaving roughly 8.3% of tanks regulated under the act as amended.

Senator for Marion recalled the 2014 water contamination episode and the legislative response that followed. "I remember a licorice smell in the air 27...the water basically being cut off," she said, describing the session that produced statewide regulation. She argued the bill would weaken protections created after that event.

Senator from Cattle urged colleagues to "protect their drinking water," saying West Virginians expect the Legislature to shield public water supplies from contamination. The junior senator from second, who explained the committee substitute during third reading, urged passage and framed the bill as correcting an overreaction to the 2014 incident, and as easing regulatory burden on industry.

After floor debate the question was put to a recorded vote. The clerk reported the result as 25 yeas, 7 nays, 2 absent; the president declared the bill passed and directed the clerk to communicate the action to the House.

The bill amends the AST regulatory scheme by narrowing the tanks that must be inspected by certified professionals and instituting self-inspection or registration-only requirements for the excluded categories. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle framed the choice as one between regulatory burden on producers and protection of drinking-water sources.

The passage triggers referral or implementation tasks for the Department of Environmental Protection and for any agencies responsible for updating guidance or compliance forms; the bill text (committee substitute) will determine specific compliance, registration, and reporting deadlines.

Votes Senate final passage (third reading) of engrossed committee substitute for Senate Bill 592: 25 yeas, 7 nays, 2 absent; outcome: approved.

Sources: West Virginia Senate floor proceedings (third reading and debate).