Question #1. Flooding is one of the most serious environmental issues facing West Virginians. In 2023, the Legislature created a Flood Resiliency Trust Fund to enhance flood prevention and protection, using primarily nature-based solutions and concentrating in low-income areas. For many years, this Trust Fund was unfunded. In 2026, the Legislature approved $5 million for the Trust Fund, which CWV believes is wholly inadequate. Will you support dedicated, ongoing state funding for flood resilience and oppose efforts to weaken or divert those funds?

Yes.

Question #2. The Ohio River and its tributaries supply drinking water to communities across West Virginia and support many other water uses. This critical water source may soon become overburdened with new petrochemical facilities and data centers. But permitting is still done separately by facility, with no limits on overall water withdrawal rates. Will you support legislation that establishes enforceable limits on cumulative water withdrawals from the Ohio River basin, prioritizing the protection of drinking water supplies and existing users?

Yes.

Question #3. PFAS, a family of “forever chemicals” linked to cancer and other serious health effects, have contaminated drinking water in West Virginia for decades. Yet the state has no enforceable limits on PFAS discharges from industrial facilities into surface water, forcing communities to rely on slow or inadequate federal action. Will you support legislation establishing enforceable state limits on PFAS in industrial discharges?

Yes.

Question #4. West Virginia’s Ohio River communities already live with air and water pollution from a dense concentration of petrochemical and chemical facilities, and more are being proposed or expanded. The state currently permits each facility separately, with no requirement to consider the combined burden on host communities. Will you support legislation requiring cumulative impact assessments before new or expanding petrochemical facilities are approved in areas already overburdened by industrial pollution?

Yes. 

Question #5. Methane is often leaked from improperly maintained, orphaned or abandoned gas wells. It is the most potent greenhouse gas known, can contaminate groundwater, and be hazardous to local residents. During the 2026 session, legislation was proposed (HB 5414, HB 5415) that would prevent future orphan gas and oil wells by requiring an operator to post a bond sufficient to cover the full cost of plugging, or to pay production-based amounts into an escrow fund sufficient to plug the well at the end of its useful life. If similar legislation is introduced in 2027, will you support it?

Yes. 

Question #6. Large solar generating arrays are often located on farmland. Will you support incentives and permitting reforms that encourage large solar to be sited on brownfields/degraded or previously mined/industrial lands, to help West Virginia protect prime farmland and intact forests?

Yes. 

Question #7. Currently, West Virginians have no local control through their municipal or county governments over the siting, construction, operation, water use, or environmental compliance of micro-grids and data centers. Will you support legislation to restore local control over these factors?

Yes.

Question #8. During the 2026 session, legislation was introduced that would have protected private wells, and controlled groundwater and aquifer depletion by data centers and other industrial development (HB 4683). If similar legislation is introduced in 2027, will you support it?

Yes. 

Question #9. West Virginia leads the nation in deer/vehicle collisions, killing over 10,000 deer and creating property damage and risk to human life. Highway fencing and the construction of wildlife under- and overpasses dramatically reduce this needless damage and risk. If legislation is proposed in 2027 to study the feasibility of wildlife crossing corridors in high-risk areas, will you support it?

Yes. 

Question #10. In the last several sessions, legislation has been introduced that would have opened West Virginia state parks and forests to development, thereby changing their character. This legislation included opening these protected areas to motorized vehicles and developing them for commercial use. If similar legislation is introduced in 2027, will you oppose it?

Yes. 

Question #11. Why should West Virginia voters concerned about the effects of climate change, such as destructive storms that can cause flooding, and environmental pollution on their daily lives choose you over your opponent?

It’s no secret that young people have been leaving West Virginia to go places that offer them better futures and opportunities, including many of my peers from high school and college. Many of them care deeply about environmental and climate issues but don’t feel that West Virginia is capable of changing. In order for that change to happen, it’s going to take some of us staying here and fighting for it. West Virginia is worth fighting for, the people who live here are worth fighting for, and the future generations of our state are worth fighting for. Protecting our state from exploitative outside industries, prioritizing clean water and air, and investing in renewable energy sources are all part of my campaign’s main platform. There’s too much at stake for these issues to continue to be ignored by our state leaders. We need to elect legislators who recognize the damage that’s being done to our health and environment and will fight to make the necessary changes to protect them.

Question #12. If the greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels by electric utilities must be reduced, what is the best way to do this while still supporting fossil-fuel workers and communities?

Beginning the shift away from fossil fuels is a necessity for West Virginia and establishing a detailed transition plan to support and protect the workers that rely on the fossil fuel industry for work should be at the very top of our priority list while we’re creating the framework for this shift. It’s essential that we take the proper time to plan ahead and receive input from the communities that will be impacted by this transition so that we can guarantee no worker will be left behind or forgotten once the transition begins.

Question #13. Suppose an industrial development is proposed for your district. Promises of jobs are made in support, but you have doubts about how many and what types of jobs would actually result. Environmentalists oppose the development, citing concerns about harm to water resources, but you have doubts about how serious the harm would really be. How would you resolve these doubts on both sides? To whom would you listen?

West Virginian’s are currently being ignored and left out of the decision-making process regarding many of these developmental projects. I believe it’s crucial that the communities being impacted by these projects have time to learn about the positive and negative impacts that it may have on the surrounding area before a decision is made on whether or not to move forward. We don’t have to sacrifice clean water and clean air in order to create jobs in West Virginia. We need to have proper safeguards in place that protect our environment and give the public a voice when industrial projects are being proposed in our state. These decisions are currently being made behind the backs of the people who will be impacted by them the most and without any thought given to how it may impact us in the future. Even if a new development will bring more jobs to West Virginia, we must take the time to thoroughly access the impact that it will have on the surrounding environment and allow for public input before any planning begins.