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WV Governor Adjusts Storage Tank Law

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Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin is planning administrative fixes instead of a special session to adjust a law regulating aboveground storage tanks.

Tomblin spokesman Chris Stadelman says the governor won't call a special session, as legislative leaders had urged. Lawmakers are already in Charleston this week for interim committee meetings.

Stadelman says the administration plans to put a higher priority on inspections for tanks near water supplies. He says tanks holding hazardous materials will also take priority.

House Speaker Tim Miley and Senate President Jeff Kessler said a Jan. 1 deadline for tank inspections in the law is unattainable.

Miley has said tank requirements would overly burden small oil and gas operators.

The law reacts to a January chemical spill that contaminated 300,000 people's tap water for days.