A bankruptcy judge has initially approved plans for the company at the center of a January chemical spill to demolish its storage tanks.
Unless objections are filed by Friday afternoon, Judge Ronald Pearson said in court documents Monday he will give Freedom Industries the go-ahead to tear down its Charleston site.
The state Department of Environmental Protection ordered the demolition. Freedom expects the process to end by late June.
Freedom wants to use Independence Excavating Inc. to remove tanks, piping, equipment and other components.
Freedom would receive $25,000 for assets demolished and removed. The contract wouldn’t include remediating environmental damage to the site.
Freedom’s spill contaminated tap water for 300,000 West Virginians for days.
Federal officials have already removed evidence on site for investigations.
Tag: DEP
Mine Operator Proposes Alternate Shaft Location
A coal mine operator has proposed an alternate location for a ventilation shaft near Grafton's Tygart Lake State Park after residents and park visitors…
A coal mine operator has proposed an alternate location for a ventilation shaft near Grafton’s Tygart Lake State Park after residents and park visitors complained.
The Department of Environmental Protection says the new site proposed by ICG Tygart Valley would be farther away from the park boundary and on a wooded hilltop. The previously proposed site was in a valley.
The DEP says the company also plans to construct a berm around the new site and plant trees to further obscure its view.
In addition, the Arch Coal subsidiary plans to encase a fan motor in a cinderblock structure insulated with foam to address concerns about noise. The fan housing would be covered with sound-proofing material and additional foam and include an exhaust tube that directs noise vertically.
US Agency Rejects Funding for W.Va. Water Projects
Proposals to fund drinking water projects in four West Virginia counties have been rejected by federal regulators. The rejected projects are funded with…
Proposals to fund drinking water projects in four West Virginia counties have been rejected by federal regulators.
The rejected projects are funded with money from the Abandoned Mine Land program. But federal officials say West Virginia hasn’t shown that the projects are really aimed at remedying water supply damage caused by coal mining before passage of a 1977 strip mining law.
The Charleston Gazette reports that the U.S. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement said Thursday it is “impossible” at present for federal officials to approve the projects. They include the construction of water lines in Logan, Nicholas, Preston and Wyoming counties.
The DEP said it’s working with local water systems, consultants and the OSM to provide additional data for the projects that were rejected.