WVDEP issues Notices of Violation to Diversified Services

 

Two Notices of Violation (NOV) have been issued to Diversified Services in connection with the trucking company’s spill at its headquarters near St. Albans. The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Water and Waste Management issued the NOVs.

Diversified Services is a contractor for Freedom Industries and transports MCHM, among other chemicals, for the company. On March 7, WVDEP inspectors responded to a report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of a sheen in a drainage system near Diversified Services’ facility. The EPA and other federal agencies are conducting a separate investigation of Diversified Services.

The WVDEP conducted sampling and instructed Diversified to take immediate action to contain the material, which the company did. Test results from the sampling show the chemical MCHM was present in the drainage system, which empties into a tributary of the Kanawha River.

It is not known how much material got into the drainage system or the exact cause and timeframe of the release. There are no public water intakes immediately downstream of the site.

The NOVs were issued to Diversified for failing to comply with Section B.2 of its stormwater permit which states “All discharges covered by this permit shall be composed entirely of stormwater …,” and for failing to take all reasonable steps to minimize or prevent any discharge that has a reasonable likelihood of adversely affecting human health or the environment.

Diversified has until March 26 to provide a written response to the violations. The WVDEP continues the monitor the situation at the facility.

Contact:

Tom Aluise
304-926-0499
Thomas.J.Aluise@wv.gov