West Virginia legislation · 2025 Regular Session
West Virginia HB3112: Community Air Monitoring
Status: Introduced, March 4, 2025
The purpose of this bill is to permit the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection to install and monitor air quality using fenceline monitors near facilities that emit air pollution, provide technical assistance to individuals and groups that wish to monitor the air quality in their communities, encourage the Department of Environmental Protection to use the collected data; permit individuals to submit the data collected regarding air pollution to the secretary, and enable the secretary to follow up on any data found from fenceline air quality monitoring.
What the bill says
To amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding a new section, designated §22-5-21, relating to the right of individuals to know in real-time about their exposures to pollutants; permitting the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection to install and monitor air quality using fenceline monitors near facilities that emit air pollution; providing technical assistance to individuals and groups that wish to monitor the air quality in their communities; encouraging the Department of Environmental Protection to use the collected data; permitting individuals to submi.
From the introduced text, March 4, 2025:
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding a new section, designated §22-5-21, relating to the right of individuals to know in real-time about their exposures to pollutants; permitting the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection to install and monitor air quality using fenceline monitors near facilities that emit air pollution; providing technical assistance to individuals and groups that wish to monitor the air quality in their communities; encouraging the Department of Environmental Protection to use the collected data; permitting individuals to submit the data collected regarding air pollution to the secretary; and enabling the secretary to follow up on any data found from fenceline air quality monitoring. article 5. air pollution control. §22-5-21. Community air monitoring programs. (a) The Legislature finds (2) People in West Virginia communities have a right to know about exposures to air pollution in real time; (3) Air pollution resulting from facilities permitted under this article may have negative health impacts; (4) Real-time air monitoring, including both fenceline monitoring and community air monitoring systems, can provide valuable air quality data, including identifying changes in air pollution levels over time; (5) Fenceline monitoring documents pollution levels close to emission sources and is useful for detecting or estimating leaks, the quantity of fugitive emissions, and other air emissions from a certain …