CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A federal judge approved a state DEP deal with Freedom Industries that will set aside $2.5 million to cover costs of the cleanup of a chemical spill.
The January 2014 spill resulted in the leakage of crude MCHM that contaminated the drinking water of hundreds of thousands in the Kanawha Valley.
“Getting that money set aside so that it can’t be used to pay for all of the other administrative fees and fees associated with a typical bankruptcy,” said DEP Secretary Randy Huffman. “This money is dedicated to the cleanup and remediation of the site.”
U.S. Judge Ronald Pearson approved the settlement, which depends on the hiring of a consultant to handle the remediation process. Huffman said there are a few steps that still have to take place before work can actually begin.
“Removing soil, and then there’ll have to be a cap put in. There’ll have to be some long-term monitoring put in,” he explained. “We’re talking about fall probably before we have a plan. We’ve got to have a contractor first.”
One aspect that Huffman insisted no one should be concerned about is the process of hauling of the contaminated soil to the Charleston landfill.
“It’s been a real big deal made out of nothing,” Huffman said. “This is a special waste that requires a special waste permit. Just like contaminated soil from underground storage tanks and train wrecks that we sign off on every day at every landfill in the state.”
Freedom will be allowed to dispose of up to 1,500 tons of soil. Some of the soil should be brought to the landfill this week.