The Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson, issued an announcement on Tuesday, March 24, that dozens of mountaintop coal-mining permits would be reviewed for their potential impacts on streams and wetlands.

Jackson stated that the move would target the controversial practice by coal mining companies that blasts away the tops of mountains and sends debris into streams and wetlands.

The new policy does not apply to existing mines, but to requests for new permits, a number estimated to be as high as 200.

The following day, Gov. Joe Manchin met with officials from the White House Council on Environmental Quality and the EPA and released the following statement:

“”I told them that we are looking for a balance between the environment and the economy, and they assured me that they will work with us to find that balance.

As a result of our discussion this morning, our state Department of Environmental Protection is bringing together the mining companies that have permits in question with the EPA officials.”

Then, on April 1, Gov. Manchin met with officials from the EPA, WVDEP, and the Army Corp of Engineers.

“As a result of our discussions today, the EPA will return within two weeks to meet with our DEP officers, the Corps and the companies in question to focus on a permit decision,” Gov. Manchin stated.

That meeting has not yet been scheduled, according to a spokesperson for the governor.

Three days following the EPA’s announcement that they would reassert their longstanding legal authority under the Clean Water Act to review mining permit applications, an announcement was made that the U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey was releasing its findings on a national study of the water quality of private U.S. wells.

The U.S. Geological Survey concluded from a 13-year study (1991-2004) that more than 20 percent of private domestic wells sampled nationwide contain at least one contaminant at levels of potential health concern.

The study found that about 43 million people, or 15 percent of the nation’s population, use drinking water from private wells.

These drinking wells are not regulated by the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act.

USGS scientists sampled about 2,100 private wells in 48 states and found that the contaminants most frequently measured at concentrations of potential health concern were inorganic contaminants, including radon and arsenic.

“The results of this study are important because they show that a large number of people may be unknowingly affected,” Matt Larsen, USGS Associate Director for Water, said.

“Greater attention to the quality of drinking water from private wells and continued public education are important steps toward the goal of protecting public health,” he said.

According to officials at the West Virginia office of USGS, data for the national study was collected from wells in southern West Virginia and a separate report was issued at the time of the water quality testing.

This 2000 report, “Ground Water Quality in the Appalachian Plateaus, Kanawha River Basin, West Virginia,” found that levels of sulfate exceeded the USEPA standards in two of the 30 wells sampled.

It also found that 13% of the wells contained more than the permissible maximum contaminant level of arsenic in public drinking water supplies and noted, “arsenic in ground water commonly results from natural minerals in rock units, which can differ at a local scale.

The proposed standards reflect the previously unknown potential of arsenic to cause several cancers and other diseases.”

Radon was also found in concentrations exceeding the proposed USEPA standards in 50% of the wells sampled.

The study clearly states that the effects of co-occurrence of contaminants was not addressed but should be considered when evaluating water quality of an individual well.

At the time that the data was collected, West Virginia did not require domestic wells to be grouted, although they do require a concrete pad be installed around the casing at the surface.

The scientists conducting these studies state that the findings “suggest that proper grouting and sealing of the wells can reduce bacterial contamination,” though only 57% of the wells sampled were grouted.

While many might not see why this information should concern residents who do not rely on well water, the USGS report clearly states that “ground water flow in the Appalachian Plateaus is not fully understood” and that “further study is needed to determine the age of ground water in these systems.”

From 1997 to 2005, the USGS sampled the ground water in 170 wells in West Virginia for dissolved gases, including methane.

Methane was found in 131 of 170 wells and was present in concentrations greater than 28 mg/L in 13 of those wells.

At this high level of concentration, the U.S. Department of the Interior and Office of Surface Mining advises well owners to immediately contact their local county health department to obtain assistance and guidance in venting the wellhead.

“The accumulation of methane gas in an enclosed area may cause an explosive environment in which an ignition source such as an electrical outlet, pilot light, match, or even a well pump could trigger a violent explosion,” the report states.

The report also mentions that methane in ground water is not explosive, but when water containing dissolved methane comes into contact with air, the methane quickly escapes from the ground water into the atmosphere and if not properly vented, is a cause for concern.

Private well owners, who generally are responsible for testing the quality of their well water and treating, if necessary, can contact local and State health agencies for guidance and information about well maintenance, water quality and testing options, and in-home water treatment devices.

The current Clean Water Act only addresses surface water and does not tackle the increasing concerns of contaminated ground water.

Yesterday, FRONTLINE hosted a special sneak peak preview of the upcoming documentary, “Posioned Waters” along with a panel discussion with Obama’s EPA Administrator, Lisa Jackson, and Nixon’s EPA Administrator, Bill Ruckelshaus, on effective policies for protecting America’s waterways.

According to FRONTLINE’s Diane Buxton, the documentary touches briefly on West Virginia, but focuses on how, more than three decades after the Clean Water Act, iconic American waterways like the Chesapeake Bay and Puget Sound are still in perilous condition and facing new sources of contamination.

“Poisoned Waters” airs Tuesday, April 21, from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. on PBS.