Essentially, it's supposed to ensure that clean rivers in the state stay clean. The industry substitute provides more waivers for specific types of polluting activities and offers less protection for high-quality streams. Most states don't give industry two shots at influencing regulations by requiring legislative approval. Neither does the federal government. This incident demonstrates exactly why.
Industry already has enough opportunity to influence the policing of pollution.
Industry lawyers and lobbyists help weaken legislation before it passes. They lobby for weaker regulations written by agencies and the Environmental Quality Board. And, until recently, industry has held tremendous sway over DEP's enforcement of regulations and laws. It's time to tip the balance back toward citizens. West Virginia should do away with legislative approval of regulations and leave that to state agencies and boards, as most other states do.