Inspectors Cite Company in West Virginia Spill for Violations at Other Site

January 16, 2014 by

The company whose spill contaminated the water supply for 300,000 West Virginians has been cited for violations at a second facility where it’s storing chemicals.

Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Tom Aluise says inspectors found five violations Monday at a Nitro site where Freedom Industries moved its coal-cleaning chemicals after last Thursday’s spill. Inspectors found that, like the Charleston facility where the leak originated, the Nitro site lacked appropriate secondary containment. In Charleston, a porous containment wall allowed the chemical to ooze into the Elk River.

Aluise said Wednesday that the state might force Freedom to relocate the material again. The Nitro facility isn’t near a river or water supply.

Other violations include failing to follow storm water and groundwater guidelines, not filing monitoring reports and not properly storing drums with potential contaminants.