Site of W.Va. spill was subject of 2010 complaint
Source: Associated Press
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- West Virginia inspectors visited the site of last week's chemical spill in 2010 when a nearby resident complained about a strong odor of licorice, the same smell that led officials to the spill Jan. 9, according to documents released Thursday.
The company that stores the chemical that leaked into the Elk River and contaminated drinking water for 300,000 people was not cited after the 2010 visit, the documents showed. Robert Keatley, one of the inspectors, said in an email that the odor was not strong enough to merit a citation.
Because the site only stored and did not manufacture chemicals, state officials have said it did not need permits to discharge pollutants into the air or water. Previously, the state environmental department said the last inspection report for the site dated to 2001, when it was a refinery owned by a different company and operating under more stringent rules.
During the 2010 visit, the inspectors noted the company, Freedom Industries, should file paperwork to see if it needed a permit for the chemical that caused the odor. Freedom submitted it, and it was determined that a permit wasn't necessary, Keatley said.
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