Tag: Potomac River

Verso Agrees to $10,000 Fine in Potomac River Latex Spill

The Maryland Department of the Environment says Verso Corp. will pay a $10,000 settlement for two chemical spills that tainted the Potomac River last fall.

Agency spokesman Jay Apperson said Thursday the amount is the same as a fine the agency proposed in February.

The spills at Verso’s paper mill in the western Maryland town of Luke included 9,500 gallons of synthetic latex on Sept. 23 and some concentrated red dye on Oct. 2.

The chemicals went through a wastewater treatment plant before reaching the river. The latex spill prompted two West Virginia communities to close their drinking water intakes before Maryland regulators concluded there was no public health threat.

Apperson says Memphis, Tennessee-based Verso had complied with agency requests for measures to reduce the chance of future spills.

Gov. Agency Monitoring Algae Blooms

A government agency is asking people in four states, including West Virginia and the District of Columbia to report algae blooms in rivers and streams that drain into the Potomac River.

The Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin said in a statement Thursday that it’s in the fifth year of studying the prevalence and ecological impact of algae and plants in freshwater systems.

Agency biologists hope to identify more hot spots within the basin to target for more localized research.

The agency says a newly developed smartphone application will enable volunteers to photograph and share pictures of the algae blooms.

The agency is composed of commissioners representing the federal government, the states of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Update: Latex Spill Not Expected to Reach Washington, DC

Update: Wednesday, September 30, 2015 at 11:45 a.m.Current models estimate the diluted discharge will reach Hagerstown, Maryland by October 3 and Harpers…

Update: Wednesday, September 30, 2015 at 11:45 a.m.

Current models estimate the diluted discharge will reach Hagerstown, Maryland by October 3 and Harpers Ferry by October 10. Rain may alter the projections. The discharge is expected to continue to flow downstream and become diluted.

Washington’s Top News reports the spill is not expected to impact the Washington, DC area’s water supply. The full impact of the spill is still being investigated by the Maryland Department of the Environment.

The Potomac Conservancy is providing updates on its website. Officials say there have been no observations of fish kills.

Original post:

More Potomac River communities are taking steps to protect their drinking water from last week’s chemical spill at a western Maryland paper mill.

Treatment plant operators announced precautions Tuesday as a preliminary analysis indicated the nonhazardous, synthetic latex is not breaking down into potentially harmful components.

A water utility in Berkeley County, West Virginia, says it will close its Potomac intake for up to a week to avoid harming 22,000 customers, or plant equipment, as the plume of styrene-butadiene passes.

Hagerstown, Maryland, says it’s enhancing its water treatment process to ensure safe water for about 90,000 customers.

The Maryland Department of the Environment says preliminary test results from river water collected near the Verso Corp. mill in Allegany County last week did not detect any potentially harmful styrene.

Paw Paw Takes Preventative Measures With Water

Verso Corp. says the chemical that spilled into the Potomac River last week at its Maryland paper mill was a synthetic form of latex, posing no allergy threat for people sensitive to natural rubber.

Verso spokeswoman Kathi Rowzie said Monday the substance was half water and half styrene-butadiene, a paper coating. Nearly 10,000 gallons spilled into the river Wednesday from a wastewater treatment plant serving the mill in Luke.

Rowzie says workers failed to close a drain from a storage tank that was being filled from a railroad tank car.

The spill prompted Paw Paw, West Virginia, to close its water intake Sunday before the milky green plume arrived. The town stored enough water to supply customers until Tuesday morning, when experts say the plume will have passed.

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