Now that last week's chemical spill in West Virginia is seemingly contained, environmental activists are asking questions about the lack of regulatory oversight of the ironically-named Freedom Industries plant producing the toxic MCHM chemical. It appears that the last inspection of the plant near Charleston, WV was in 1991, and no one seemed to be concerned that the plant was on the banks of the Elk River, upstream from a water plant serving hundreds of thousands of people.
Charles P. Pierce's take is that the State's anything-goes bidness-friendly environment led to an abdication of responsibility on the part of State regulators to the citizens, who were on the losing end of the State's "economic development" deals to entice corporate predators to set up shop in the State.
UPDATE: Weeper of the House and man-with-the-suspicious-orange-glow John "Mr. Tangerine Man" Boehner thinks we have enough regulations. Tell that to your constituents in the Cincinnati area, who may be affected by the upstream spill.
