ORANGE GEL IN DODDRIDGE STREAMS CAME FROM TAPO DRILLING - West Union Not Notified About Spill

(06/19/2010)

By Bob Weaver West Virginia environmental regulators say a spill that left two inches of orange gel on a Doddridge County stream last August likely came from a company's drilling activity. West Union officials didn't learn about the spill until October, 2009, four months later. Duane Reynolds, operator of the West Union's water treatment plant, says he's been waiting since last fall for the Department of Environmental Protection to say what caused it. Reynolds expressed concern why he wasn't notified of the spill. The Division of Environmental Protection's Office of Oil and Gas said this week there is no definitive explanation for the petroleum-based discharge along Buckeye Creek. The report says the discharge is believed to be accidental. The report didn't specify what was in the orange gel, although a DEP inspector indicated it was petroleum-based. The DEP has cited Tapo Energy for discharging pollutants into state waters. Tapo agreed to pay a $10,000 fine and take necessary actions but admitted to no wrongdoing.

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