Operational update on Wyoming County mineral oil response

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Containment measures established by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) and Appalachian Power following the transformer mineral oil release at a Wyoming County substation successfully captured material that escaped primary containment.

On Wednesday, increased river flow from snowmelt and recent precipitation pushed debris and large sections of ice downstream, impacting several containment structures near the confluence with the Guyandotte River. This potential shift in conditions was anticipated, and multiple redundant containment systems were already in place farther downstream in the Guyandotte River and at R. D. Bailey Lake.

Those downstream systems remain intact and are now serving as the primary lines of containment.

Environmental cleanup crews are repositioning equipment and adjusting operations along the Guyandotte River while installing additional controls as needed.

At this time, no material has been observed in R.D. Bailey Lake. Multiple containment systems remain active at the lake, and crews continue monitoring.

WVDEP will maintain oversight of the response and provide updates as conditions warrant.​

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