The Warren Sentinel

Article date: September 1996

 Avtex was underwater, but no major environmental problems

By: Diane Hartson and Chris Phillips

Although some contamination occurred when Shenandoah river flooding affected a polishing basin at the former Avtex Fibers plant Saturday, the floods caused no serious environmental problems, authorities said Monday.

“There were some potential problems out there,” Warren County Fire Chief Richard E. Mabie said.  “A lot of the plant was underwater. While we were certainly concerned about Avtex, there were no problems this go around.”

Mabie said he kept in close contact with officials from the Environmental Protection Agency and the state Department of Environmental Quality throughout the weekend as flooding hit the county. Some minor problems occurred, but no major hazardous release took place, he said.

He received a call from the state department early Saturday morning to inform of “some contamination from a polishing basin” as the flood waters rose, but “that was a minor thing with the amount of water flowing,” Mabie said.

State Public Safety Secretary Jerry W. Kilgore, who visited Front Royal over the weekend and again on Monday, said state officials were told by the EPA that flood waters were not “high enough to cause any hazardous materials release” at the Avtex site.

Officials were concerned about a couple of tanks containing sulfuric acid that were surrounded with water, but “they were never in danger of floating or contaminating,” Mabie said. Another tank that was partially filled with a non-hazardous material appeared to be in danger of breaking loose in the flood waters, but it didn’t, he said.

A consultant’s report released last week on about 30 acres of buildings that the EPA had planned to demolish at the site warns repeatedly that the condition of the buildings is so bad that there is the danger of hazardous materials release. It says several areas are in danger of collapsing and some of the buildings contained 5 feet of water during flooding last winter.

Mabie said this weekend’s flood waters never reached the buildings.

FMC Corp. Spokeswoman Carolyn Oppleman said water entered the water basins at the plant, but it’s “highly improbable that the water entered into the river.”

FMC is responsible for cleanup of the Superfund site to the west side of the railroad tracks.

The regular water level in the basins was down and the plant maintained full compliance with EPA standards, Ms. Oppleman said. FMC is working to move water in some of the basins to equalize levels so no runoff into the river occurs, she said.

Ms. Oppleman said that the waste water treatment plant wasn’t in operation because it was under “normal annual maintenance and repair activities.”

County residents spent Monday mopping up as the waters receded and cringing when another brief downpour hit Monday night. Mabie estimated damage in the county at between $35 million and $40 million, about half of it in debris removal.

Many county roads were still closed Monday, mainly because of debris, he said. Howellsville road was reopened Monday evening. Panhandle road and many roads in the Waterlick area remained closed.

Mabie said the Shenandoah Farms subdivision sustained the largest amount of damage in the flooding with many dirt roads there washed out. Browntown was hit hard and Mabie estimated that the Shenandoah River Estates subdivision “is going to be our biggest dollar loss in residences.”

Most residents who were evacuated had by Monday been able to return home. Mabie said those who couldn’t return home were put up in motels. “I have no reports of anybody being permanently displaced,” he said.

The American Red Cross shelter at Warren County High School closed at noon, but those who needed assistance or a hot meal can go to the Red Cross headquarters in the Union Hall at 231 Chester St.

Front Royal has opened the shower facilities at the community swimming pool for residents who need to bathe. The showers will be open each day from 6 to 7:30 a.m. and from 4 to 8 p.m. Those using the showers must provide their own shampoo, soap and towels.

Town crews were still trying Monday to restore electrical service to the Riverton area, according to Town Manager M. Lyle Lacy, who estimated that the service would be restored today by midnight.