"CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- When the lengthy prepared statements were over, Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., opened the question-and-answer session with a predictable query: Is the drinking water supply that serves 300,000 West Virginians safe?"
"Jeff McIntyre, president of West Virginia American Water, dodged. Water companies do not set safety standards, McIntyre said. They just follow them, and West Virginia American is 'in compliance with all the standards.'
Asked the same question, Dr. Letitia Tierney, commissioner of the state Bureau for Public Health, weaved.
'That's in a way a difficult thing to say, because everybody has a different definition of safe,' Tierney said. 'As I've used the example before, some people think it's safe to jump off the bridge on Bridge Day. I don't think that's safe. So everybody has a different definition.'"
Ken Ward Jr. reports for the Charleston Gazette February 10, 2014.
SEE ALSO:
"Three Months Before Leak, Review Questioned Freedom Tanks" (Charleston Gazette)
"The Company Behind West Virginia's Chemical Spill Skips Congressional Hearing" (Huffington Post)
"One Month After West Virginia Spill, Officials At Congressional Hearing Still Short On Answers" (Huffington Post)
"West Virginia Officials Avoid Calling State's Water 'Safe'" (Aljazeera)
"No End Date Set for Use of Bottled Water in Schools" (Charleston Gazette)
"Bad Water Put Eyes at Risk, Jefferson Delegate Says" (Charleston Gazette)
"Tanks in West Virginia Leak Not in Compliance Months Before, Official Says" (AP)
"The Company Behind West Virginia's Chemical Spill Skips Congressional Hearing" (Huffington Post)
"West Virginians Still Don’t Trust Their Water, a Month After Spill" (Aljazeera)
"Sen. Rockefeller Responds To Water Safety Concerns" (NPR)
"Legislators Make A Field Trip To Investigate W.Va Spill" (NPR)
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