West Virginia
Groundwater Remediation Program
West Virginia Groundwater Remediation Program
The Groundwater Remediation Program is part of the Groundwater/UIC Program in the Division of Water and Waste Management at the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP). WVDEP says it is directly involved with the remediation of sites containing contaminated groundwater and soil, and describes it as the last recourse for remediation within the agency: in general its sites do not fit under the authority of any other WVDEP office.
In a Phase I ESA
ASTM E1527-21 does not name a state groundwater remediation program among its standard record sources. This one matters because WVDEP says its sites are, in general, the ones no other office of the agency has authority over. Five details shape how to use it.
- The sites are varied. WVDEP says they include rail yards, factories, refineries, fuel bulk terminals, above-ground fuel tanks and spills, with contaminants that range from gasoline, diesel fuel, fuel oil and chlorinated solvents to materials such as cow manure.
- The count WVDEP gives is old. Its page says that as of January 2006 these sites totaled nearly 200. It gives no later figure.
- Soil is in scope. The program's authority is the rule 47CSR12, Requirements Regarding Groundwater Standards. WVDEP says the program often works to remediate or remove contaminated soils as well, because groundwater contamination cannot be completely abated without that work.
- Another office may hold part of the record. WVDEP says the program is often the sole office in charge of a site, but frequently works with other offices such as Environmental Enforcement or the Permitting Section, and sometimes only advises another office or a federal agency.
- The decision asked for is No Further Action. WVDEP says remediation projects "will submit monitoring data, reports, and request decisions on No Further Action (NFA) at this time" in its Permitting, Inspection, and Enforcement system. The page does not say whether "at this time" is part of the decision's wording.
Two related records
The same Groundwater/UIC Program keeps two other kinds of paper that bear on a property.
- Groundwater Protection Plans. WVDEP says these are required for all facilities having the potential to impact groundwater. A facility must inventory all potentially contaminating processes and materials and have structures and practices in place to prevent groundwater contamination. The rule is 47CSR58. Ask an industrial owner for the plan; it is the facility's own list of what could reach groundwater.
- Monitoring well records. Monitoring well drillers have had to be certified since March 1, 1997, under 47CSR59, and WVDEP says Title 47, Series 60 of the state rules sets the minimum documentation and standards for the design, installation, construction and abandonment of monitoring wells and for the abandonment of all boreholes.
Where to look a site up
The pages read post no list of groundwater remediation sites. WVDEP says remediation projects, groundwater protection plans and monitoring well construction and abandonment documentation are submitted through its Permitting, Inspection, and Enforcement (PIE) system, which WVDEP links as a login. The pages read do not say whether the public can search it.
Getting the file
The Groundwater/UIC page names no records route of its own. The Division of Water and Waste Management's main page links the agency's Request Information page for a Freedom of Information Act request, which can also be emailed to depfoia@wv.gov. Name the site and county and ask for the groundwater remediation file. See the Application Enhancer page.
Sources
West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection pages, read October 7, 2026, no modified date shown: