Company in West Virginia spill moving chemicals to Pennsylvania

Katie Colaneri

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Katie Colaneri is a reporter for StateImpact Pennsylvania and WHYY in Philadelphia covering energy and the environment. Before joining StateImpact, Katie worked as an investigative and enterprise reporter at WBGO in Newark, New Jersey. She covered some of New Jersey's biggest stories including the devastation and aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and Tropical Storm Irene in 2011, as well as the day-to-day triumphs and struggles to revitalize state's largest city. A native of New Jersey with roots in South Central Pennsylvania, Katie holds a bachelor's degree from Wellesley College.

February 5, 2014 | 12:27 PM

The company at the center of a major chemical spill that compromised drinking water supplies for 300,000 people in West Virginia will move thousands of gallons of the chemical to Pennsylvania, the Associated Press reports.
Early last month, at least 7,500 gallons of a foaming agent used in coal production, known as 4-methylcyclohexane methanol (or MCHM) spilled into the Elk River.
More from the AP:

Freedom Industries expected to move 3,500 gallons of crude MCHM from its Nitro facility to a coal facility in Pennsylvania on Tuesday. The Department of Environmental Protection warned that it could mean unsavory licorice smells for neighbors.
Freedom’s parent company is owned by J. Clifford Forrest, who runs Kittanning-based Rosebud Mining Co.
Freedom expects to move more chemicals in upcoming weeks. It’s unclear where the chemicals are heading.
State environmental regulators ordered Freedom to remove all chemicals from the Charleston site of the Jan. 9 spill. But when Freedom began transferring to Nitro, officials declared that facility unsafe. The state ordered Freedom to fix its issues or move to a different facility.