Monthly Archives: January 2014

Freedom Response to WVDEP Order

WVDEP Order for Freedom Industries

UPDATE 1/22/14 @ 5:10 p.m. CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- Freedom Industries says chemicals MCHM and PPH were the only two chemicals that leaked from a tank on their property into the Elk River earlier this month.

The leak, that happened on January 9, led to a state of emergency and "do not use" water ban for West Virginia American Water customers in nine West Virginia counties.

It wasn't until January 21 that the company told the DEP that PPH also leaked from the tank.

PPH is added to the Crude MCHM to act as an extender in that the Crude MCHM is available in limited, sporadic quantities, Freedom said in its response letter to the WVDEP. At the time of the release on Jan. 9, the blend in Tank No. 396, after extensive calculation, was approximately 88.5 percent Crude MCHM, and 7.3 percent PPH by weight and 4.2 percent water by weight. Our records and internal investigations indicate that there were no other materials in Tank 396 at the time of the release.

Freedoms letter was signed by Freedom President Gary Southern.

Freedom told the WVDEP on Jan. 21 that the storage tank contained roughly 300 gallons of PPH that it adds to its Crude MCHM mixture.

This material was not included in the initial information regarding the composition of the spilled materials. Failure to accurately report the type or types and quantity or quantities of the material or materials therein is a violation of state code, according to the DEP.

Having this revelation so late in the game is completely unacceptable, said WVDEP Cabinet Secretary Randy Huffman said earlier today. We have ordered Freedom to reveal any other information they have regarding the contents of the tank that leaked.

Here is the original post:
UPDATE: Freedom Industries Responds to WVDEP, Two Chemicals Leaked from Tank

A federal bankruptcy judge said a loan he tentatively approved during a hearing Tuesday would allow Freedom Industries to pay its employees and also pay to clean up a chemical leak into the Elk River earlier this month.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. --

A federal bankruptcy judge said a loan he tentatively approved during a hearing Tuesday would allow Freedom Industries to pay its employees and also pay to clean up a chemical leak into the Elk River earlier this month.

The coal-processing chemical known as Crude MCHM contaminated the West Virginia American Water system in Charleston and led officials to tell residents in nine counties not to drink, wash or cook with their water for days.

Freedom filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which allows companies to reorganize under bankruptcy protection, on Friday. In Tuesday's hearing, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Ronald Pearson called the case "one of the most unique Chapter 11 cases I've ever seen."

Freedom's president, Gary Southern, and chief financial officer, Terry Cline, testified at the hearing, which lasted a little more than six hours.

Southern told the judge, "Freedom Industries, from where I sit, is in a death spiral." Customers aren't buying from Freedom, he said, and suppliers aren't selling to them.

About 80 percent of Freedom's business is providing protection against freezing for coal, Southern testified Tuesday. The other 20 percent, which Southern called the chemistry business, includes the chemical that leaked into the Elk.

The company's busiest time is usually November through March, Southern said.

Cline said Freedom had already put $300,000 toward remediation of the spill, and told the judge the overall cost to the company might be $800,000. But Southern testified later that Freedom had already contributed $800,000 toward remediation costs.

Follow this link:
Freedom in death spiral, bankruptcy judge told

Freedom Industries told the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection today that the tank that leaked materials into the Elk River from the company's Ettowah Terminal on Jan. 9 contained two chemicals Crude MCHM and PPH.

Freedom was responding to an Order issued by the WVDEP this morning demanding that the company, by this afternoon, disclose all materials spilled during a release from Storage Tank 396 at its Elk River facility. The spill shut down the water supply for close to 300,000 West Virginia residents.

The WVDEP Order arose from Freedom's disclosure to the WVDEP on Jan. 21 that another chemical (PPH), in addition to Crude MCHM, was contained in the above-ground storage tank that leaked materials into the Elk River.

"PPH is added to the Crude MCHM to act as an extender' in that the Crude MCHM is available in limited, sporadic quantities," Freedom said in its response letter to the WVDEP. "At the time of the release on Jan. 9, the blend in Tank No. 396, after extensive calculation, was approximately 88.5 percent Crude MCHM, and 7.3 percent PPH by weight and 4.2 percent water by weight. Our records and internal investigations indicate that there were no other materials in Tank 396 at the time of the release."

Freedom's letter was signed by Freedom President Gary Southern.

Read more from the original source:
Freedom verifies two chemicals (Crude MCHM, PPH) in tank