The West Virginia Rivers Coalition (WVRC) announced a new program to monitor how the state government issues permits for water pollution.

"The idea of this program is to get more citizen involvement in protecting local rivers and streams from water pollution," said Evan Hansen, a Switzer Fellow and Director of WVRC’s new Permit Analysis Program. "We want to train grassroots groups across West Virginia to watchdog permits in their watersheds."

The program aims to achieve a number of goals. First, WVRC will evaluate the state Division of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) record in issuing and enforcing sound permits, resulting in a report card that will show any patterns that are found. Then the program will conduct a detailed review of several major permits in the state.

Hansen will use the report card and detailed permit reviews as background material for a series of workshops for local watershed groups. He will also develop a Permit Watchdogging Guide so the public can be easily involved in the permitting process. The workshops, to be held across West Virginia, will train citizens how to watchdog pollution permit applications and renewals in their watersheds.

The Permit Analysis Program is funded for two years through a grant by the Switzer Environmental Leadership Program Fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation. Hansen’s education includes a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a masters degree in Energy and Resources from the University of California, Berkeley. For several years, he has worked for environmental research and consulting companies, and since 1997 he has provided independent consulting services through Downstream Strategies, based in Morgantown, WV.

"Evan’s experience and technical knowledge is highly sought," said Jeremy P. Muller, Executive Director of WVRC. "We’re excited to have him on board since he’ll give such a great boost to our river conservation work."

Compared to similar agencies in other states, the West Virginia DEP, Office of Water Resources (OWR), which issues water quality permits, is underfunded and understaffed. The Permit Analysis Program may help demonstrate the need for more funding for the OWR. While the program may point to factors which have hampered strict permitting and enforcement, it may also point to areas in which OWR has performed commendably.

"While we’ll be evaluating and reporting on very technical issues, we want folks without specialized scientific training to be able to use the tools and training we’ll provide. That’s the exciting part about this program," Hansen added.

"This program will enable WVRC to expand our grassroots support to watershed groups, empowering them to better monitor their rivers and streams," said Muller. "It’s another step at the local level towards cleaner water in West Virginia."

For more information about the Permit Analysis Program, contact Evan Hansen at (304) 291-8205, or send e-mail to

<ehansen@downstreamstrategies.com>

2,200 members. WVRC's mission is to seek the conservation and restoration of West Virginia's exceptional rivers and streams. For more information visit <www.wvrivers.org> or call (304) 637-7201.