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Ironically, Avtex official also now warn of continued pollution because the plant is no longer operating.
“[The water board] has accomplished absolutely nothing from an environmental perspective and, despite claims of state officials, may result in the release of untreated waste water to the Shenandoah River,” said Gregg.
State and federal environmental agencies reject Avtex’s claim, saying that river pollution has ceased.
All waste water is been diverted to on-site lagoons, explained Toffel.
Though plant cleanup is expected to be a lengthy process, it is running efficiently, said Toffel.
Four special freight cars, owned by Akzo Chemicals, were expected to roll into Front Royal Sunday, Nov. 19, and removal the carbon disulfide from the plant and return of the chemical to its manufacturer was expected to be completed within a few days.
In addition, all chlorine has been removed from the site, and a multi-agency assessment is identifying possible additional sources of contamination. Cleanup work is being shared by Avtex and state and federal agencies.
Avtex officials have also expressed concern that a joint Avtex and FMC Corp. (the plant’s former owner) cleanup of contaminated well water would come to a halt without use of the waste water treatment plant. However, Toffel said that the EPA will likely set up its own system of purification for the groundwater contamination, which has previously been designated as a federal Superfund project.
As cleanup efforts continue Avtex awaits its fate on the PCB allegations following a Nov. 15 court hearing.
Lawyers from the Virginia Attorney General’s office requested that Richmond Circuit Court Judge T.J. Markow require immediate payment of a $2 million penalty owed to Front Royal and Warren County for discharge permit violations and impose a $990,000 penalty for violating an agreement with the state to cease all river pollution. Judge Markow said he would rule “in due course.”
On Tuesday, Nov. 21, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that the EPA has slapped a $40 million lien on Avtex Fibers Inc. The civil action, filed Nov. 16 in Warren County Circuit Court, is designed to assure that the costs of the cleanup are paid by Avtex Inc. and not the federal taxpayers, according to EPA officials.
The Times-Dispatch report said that $40 million is the “estimated maximum the government might spend” in cleaning up the polluted plant site, according to Wayne Walters of the EPA’s Philadelphia office.
The Commonwealth of Virginia has also filed a $2 million lien against the company, the newspaper report added.
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