The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) enforces state and federal environmental laws in West Virginia to help protect our air, water, and land.
With the enactment of Senate Bill 217 during a special session of the West Virginia Legislature, the Division of Environmental Protection was established in October 1991. Following years of restructuring and reorganizing, the Division was elevated to a cabinet-level agency in 2001, and thus the Division of Environmental Protection became the Department of Environmental Protection.
The WVDEP’s mission is to promote a healthy environment. To do this, the agency uses more than 800 employees in nine locations around the state to administer programs that allow industry and the environment to coexist.