The bill, which is being considered by the full House of Delegates, was advanced in a near unanimous vote.

The bill will authorize the DEP to conduct a study to determine state-specific guidelines for how much selenium is acceptable in state waters.

If sites are found to have exceeded selenium guidelines, they will no longer be subject to enforcement action, but undergo additional monitoring.

The standard – which is five parts per billion -- is currently loosely enforced with long and extended compliance timetables.

Any changes to WV’s selenium standards must be approved by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, the body responsible for setting selenium guidelines, or the state will face litigation.

According to the Associated Press, the bill's sponsors contend federal regulations are overly restrictive and that selenium has not been proved harmful in West Virginia waterways because the state’s fast-moving streams can tolerate higher selenium levels than slow-moving rivers and lakes.

"Our state is better equipped to handle this," said Justin Marcum, D-Mingo, one of the bill's sponsors.

"Not a bunch of outsiders coming in telling us how to manage our coal industry."

Selenium is a naturally occurring element that is released into waterways during mountaintop removal mining.

Studies have found that it is linked to a variety of health concerns when levels are high enough, and can be harmful to aquatic life.

It is extremely difficult and expensive to remove from water.

Vice president of the West Virginia Coal Association, Jason Bostic, said the effects of selenium vary and are difficult to record because there are four different kinds of selenium.

"For selenium to have an adverse impact it must accumulate in the tissue. Mere exposure to selenium in water is not enough to be able to cause a problem," Bostic said.

"Despite searching for an impact, none can be found in West Virginia streams."