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Environmentalists upset with Virginia governor over coal ash bill

Environmentalists are criticizing Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe's administration for supporting federal legislation they say will hurt efforts to curb pollution from coal ash, a coal combustion byproduct.

Several environmental groups said they were upset that a McAuliffe administration official testified Wednesday before a U.S. House subcommittee in favor of a bill backed by electric utilities. Republican U.S. Rep. David McKinley of West Virginia is the bill's sponsor.

Virginia Department of Environmental Quality Director David Paylor said the legislation improves recent federal U.S. Environmental Protection Agency coal ash rules by giving states additional flexibility in controlling pollution.

But environmental groups said McKinley's bill would weaken already weak EPA rules.

A massive coal ash spill in North Carolina last year polluted parts of the Dan River in Virginia.

source: http://www.news-record.com