Three years ago...federal experts urged the state of West Virginia to help the Kanawha Valley...prevent hazardous chemical accidents. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board recommended the step after its extensive investigation of the August 2008 explosion and fire that killed two workers at the Bayer CropScience plant in Institute. Since then, the proposal has gone nowhere. The state Department of Health and Human Resources hasn't stepped in to provide the legal authority the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department needs...And Kanawha County officials never funded the plan... Now, with more than 300,000 residents across the Kanawha Valley without usable water following a chemical accident at Freedom Industries...some local officials say it's time for action...Industry groups, including the American Chemistry Council, had opposed the CSB recommendation, saying it would "create unnecessary redundancies, as well as the imposition of additional economic burdens on local industries, communities and state governments." [also refers to DuPont]