Injunction sought to stop MCHM tainted wastewater disposal

A legal injunction has been put in place that means wastewater from the site of a chemical spill cannot be disposed of. Environmental regulators in West Virginia, US, are temporarily unable to dispose of wastewater that could have been affected by a chemical spill at a landfill site.

The ban was in put in place on Monday (March 24th) by Kanawha County Circuit Judge Paul Zakaib, stopping the Department of Environmental Protection from disposing of the waste.

The Putnam County Commission and the city of Hurricane are aiming to block all future wastewater disposal at the the Disposal Services landfill. The wastewater from the chemical spill spill contains some traces of crude methylcyclohexanemethanol (MSHM), which spilled at Freedom Industries on January 9th. The spill resulted in the contamination of around 300,000 people's drinking water for several days.

Following on from the temporary ban, a hearing has been scheduled for Friday (March 28th) in order to assess the merits of a permanent ban. Currently no waste from the Freedom Industries site that is tainted with MCHM can be sent to the landfill while litigation is still pending.

The plaintiffs claim that the public and government were not notified that the contaminated wastewater would be stored at the landfill, which had also failed to apply for a modified permit in order to receive the material. According to the county and the city, the landfill did not hold a public hearing in order to receive feedback on the possibility of receiving wastewater that is tainted with MCHM.

In addition to failing to inform the correct parties of the intention to store the waste at the landfill, according to the Putnam County and Charleston-Kanawha health departments' local health officer, the chemicals could cause health implications when inhaled. This could mean that those working at the landfill or living within close proximity could be at risk of undetermined health issues.

The storing of the wastewater at the landfill was not known about by the governments until residents in the area made complaints about a liquorice-like smell at the site.