My Letter to Congress

On Thursday, January 9, 2014, residents of the Kanawha Valley in West Virginia learned that a chemical used to clean coal, 4-Methylcyclohexanemethanol (a.k.a., MCHM), had been spilled into the Elk River, upstream of a primary water supply.  The company responsible for the spill was Freedom Industries.  Many had suspected there was a problem all day in "Chemical Valley," as there was a notable licorice scent in the air, a scent we later learned was MCHM.  A strict "Do Not Use" order was sent from West Virginia American Water, effectively cutting water off for 300,000 people.  Schools were closed, restaurants and other businesses shut down, and medical procedures were postponed as we were told the water was only safe for flushing toilets.

This is my letter to my representative in the U.S. House, Shelley Moore Capito, regarding the event.


Dear Ms. Capito:

I am one of your constituents currently on my fifth day without water in the Kanawha Valley. I am employed by a small family-owned music store, also without water, and work as a performing musician. I'm also a recent homeowner, having purchased a house on Charleston's West Side. I had planned to move my family into the residence this coming week, but this water emergency has delayed that.

I am sure you are aware of the considerable inconvenience the lack of water has caused your consituency: no drinking water, no showers, no water to do laundry, and all the rest. More troubling is the massive economic impact. There are thousands of food service workers, bartenders, hair stylists, tattooers, and others who will go without wages. In my own field, there are dozens of musicians I know who have lost gigs because the bars, restaurants, hotels, and private parties who employ them could not open. As is so often the case, disasters like this most impact those who are least able to absorb it. The worst hit, of course, are the elderly and infirm who are shut-in and unable to make it to water distribution sites.

Much has been made by our political leaders and the news media of how wonderful West Virginians are in a crisis. When faced with gross corporate irresponsibility, our leaders turn to these myths of the noble poor to quieten communal discord. Neighbor helping neighbor, relying on faith and family, sharing with one another . . . these are all wonderful things. Yet one begins to suspect that these stories are told to keep us from asking hard questions, questions like, "How is it possible that MCHM is an unregulated chemical?" and "Why don't we know and understand the toxicity of this substance?" and "Why is a chemical like this stored so close to a primary water source for thousands of West Virginians?" and "What have our leaders done to ensure we have clean water for ourselves and our children?"

I believe I know at least a portion of the answer to these questions.

I grew up in southern West Virginia and come from a family of West Virginians. My father and many others in my family have worked in the coal industry. One of my grandfathers lost a leg while working for Winco Coal Company. The other lost his house in Amherstdale during the Buffalo Creek Flood. For as long as I remember, friends and family have always said, "Coal feeds us," and, "Coal pays the bills." Coal keeps the lights on, right?

It's not just coal, of course. The gas industry has a similar grip on much of our state. Fossil-fuel and related industries have a hold on the imaginations of West Virginians -- and a hold on our elected leaders, too. No one is elected to state or federal office who isn't beholden to industry leaders. This, of course, is why you issued a press release, just hours before the chemical leak became public, reiterating your fighting stance against the EPA. Although the release was about greenhouse-gas emissions, it was ironic to say the least.

Clean water (and clean air) seem at the very heart of why we have any sort of government at all. If these are not the "blessings of liberty," it is difficult to imagine what are. If the average person -- not to mention the very weakest members of our society -- cannot be protected from industries who would sacrifice our health for profits, then what is the purpose of our government?

I would ask several things of you as my representative in Congress, some specific and some more general.

First, I would ask you to work for the reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act. One of the reasons there was so little information about MCHM is that it was grandfathered in by the original act in 1976. As it is now, we are relying on information provided by the developer of the chemical, trusting that it is accurate. This is unacceptable. I would ask that you not only require more strict regulation of MCHM, but of all potentially harmful substances. It is mere luck that the chemical that Freedom Industries leaked was not deadly. The possibilities are frightening.

Second, I would ask that you stop seeking to strip the EPA of its regulatory power. It is this agency that we rely on as Americans to help ensure clean water and air. As much as we may depend on the coal and gas industries in our state, that means nothing if we do not have air to breathe and water to drink.

Third, I would ask that you desist from contributing to the toxic political culture of our state. Big Coal and Big Gas OWN our politicians, both Democrat and Republican. Before worrying if you will offend a corporate contributor to your election campaign, I would ask that you think of the elderly shut-in who has poisoned water this week. Before you attack the EPA, please think about my two-month old son who will grow up in a world with alarming changes in climate and weather as a result of our carbon emissions -- something innumerable scientists have proven, even if those in Congress don't believe it.

West Virginians may be a noble people. I know too many of them to argue otherwise. But I also know that they can be goddamn ANGRY people when their friends and family are attacked, as they have been by Freedom Industries. I implore you to work for change in the way we prevent these disasters.


Thank you for your consideration.