Latest West Virginia Headlines

All the headlines from our West Virginia Topic Page, ordered by recency.

West Virginia Denied FEMA Grant for Chemical Spill

Feb 14 2014 // Federal officials have denied West Virginia’s request for emergency grants to reimburse first responders, nonprofits and public agencies that assisted during last month’s chemical spill. FEMA said in a letter...

Damages Allowed Over Insurer’s Refusal to Defend West Virginia Man

Feb 10 2014 // A former Wyoming County (West Virginia) Council on Aging director can recover damages for aggravation and inconvenience from an insurance company that refused to represent him when the state sued him, a federal appeals...

Firm in Deadly West Virginia Cellphone Towers Collapse Previously Cited

Feb 10 2014 // The company that employed two of the three people killed in the collapse of a pair of cellphone towers in Clarksburg was sanctioned after a fatal accident in 2009 in Missouri, according to Occupational Health and Safety...

Senate to Take Up Chemical Safety Bill After West Virginia Spill

Feb 6 2014 // U.S. senators said they will take up a bill as soon as this week to require inspections and clean-up plans for chemical storage tanks, over the objection of industry, after a West Virginia spill tainted drinking...

West Virginia Agencies Join Lawsuit Alleging Pain Pill Abuse

Feb 4 2014 // Two West Virginia agencies are joining a lawsuit against an Ohio drug company, alleging its negligent practices have helped fuel the state’s pain pill abuse epidemic. The Department of Health and Human Resources and...

Esurance Begins Selling Auto Insurance In West Virginia

Jan 30 2014 // Online seller Esurance is now offering car insurance in West Virginia. In addition to state-required liability coverage, Esurance provides optional auto insurance coverage options including: CarMatch Rental Coverage, which...

Freedom Industries: West Virginia Chemical Spill Bigger Than First Estimate

Jan 30 2014 // The company behind a chemical spill that contaminated the water supply of 300,000 people now estimates some 10,000 gallons of chemicals leaked, up from an earlier figure of 7,500 gallons, state regulators said Monday. West...

West Virginia Seeks Federal Funds for Chemical Spill Assessment

Jan 28 2014 // West Virginia is seeking a $350,000 federal grant to assess the damage of a chemical spill that polluted the water supply for 300,000 people. Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said the money would help with monitoring, testing and...

West Virginia Chemical Firm Files for Bankruptcy As Litigation Begins

Jan 27 2014 // The company blamed for a chemical spill that left 300,000 West Virginians without safe drinking water filed for bankruptcy, temporarily shielding it from dozens of lawsuits, many by businesses that were forced to shut down...

AssuredPartners Enters West Virginia, Acquiring Commercial Insurance Services

Jan 24 2014 // Florida-based AssuredPartners Inc. said it has completed the acquisition of Commercial Insurance Services through its newly formed operation AssuredPartners of West Virginia. Terms were not disclosed. The Commercial...

West Virginia Chemical Spill Firm Says It Has Insurance

Jan 23 2014 // The embattled company behind West Virginia’s chemical spill has reached a bankruptcy court deal for up to $4 million in credit from a lender to help continue operations, an attorney said. The arrangement will allow...

West Virginia Politicians Call for State, Federal Regulation of Chemicals

Jan 22 2014 // West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin this week proposed tighter regulations for chemical storage facilities after a spill contaminated the water supply for 300,000 people. Tomblin, the Democratic...

West Virginia Eyes Relief for Businesses Hurt by Spill

Jan 21 2014 // The West Virginia Legislature is fast-tracking a proposal to help small businesses affected by disasters like last week’s chemical spill. The House of Delegates last Thursday unanimously passed a bill to give the...

West Virginia Supreme Court Upholds Fire Protection Fee Outside Limits

Jan 17 2014 // The West Virginia Supreme Court has ruled that the city of Bridgeport has the authority to charge a fee for fire protection services outside its boundaries. In a ruling released Wednesday, the justices said state law...

New Health Warning Raises Concern in West Virginia Over Chemical Spill

Jan 17 2014 // A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warning to pregnant women in West Virginia has raised alarms because officials, relying on the agency’s guidance, had been assuring residents their tapwater was safe...

Inspectors Cite Company in West Virginia Spill for Violations at Other Site

Jan 16 2014 // The company whose spill contaminated the water supply for 300,000 West Virginians has been cited for violations at a second facility where it’s storing chemicals. Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Tom...

Calls for Tougher Chemical Regulation Follow West Virginia Spill

Jan 14 2014 // A chemical spill that left 300,000 people in West Virginia unable to drink their water is reviving calls for more stringent regulation of thousands of chemical storage sites in the U.S., especially those near water...

Chemical Firm, Local Water Company Sued Over West Virginia Spill

Jan 14 2014 // 13 Jan 2014 20:12 A West Virginia chemical maker was sued along with a local water company over a spill into the Elk River in the state capital, Charleston, that left businesses and residents without tap water for...

West Virginia Chemical Cleanup Continues; Probe of Leak Underway

Jan 13 2014 // West Virginia’s Governor sees the “light at the end of the tunnel” in the chemical leak that has compromised water service for about 300,000 in the state. Residents face a fifth day without drinking water...

West Virginia Mine Regulators Urge More Safety Reforms

Jan 8 2014 // West Virginia mining regulators are calling for more reforms to protect coal miners’ health and safety. A report from the Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training recommends tougher state standards to...