A new agreement could be reached soon in the ongoing remediation of the Freedom Industries Etowah River site in Charleston, WV.

A consent order signed by Mark Welch, managing director of Freedom Industries, was agreed on Nov. 12.

DEP Secretary Randy Huffman has been adamant that the risk to drinking water be eliminated and the entire agency stands by that commitment.

By signing the consent order, Freedom's restructuring team (led by Welch) is agreeing to, and legally bound to, clean up the site and allocate the financial resources to complete that work, DEP said.

The consent order is out for public notice until Dec. 17.

Once the public notice period is completed, the DEP will likely sign the agreement, which would finalize it, according to DEP spokeswoman Kelley Gillenwater.

Within 15 calendar days after the effective date of the order, Freedom Industries shall submit for approval a proposed plan and timeline for accomplishing remediation of the Etowah site.

The order also says remediation shall be achieved as approved by WVDEP Division of Water and Waste Management. Upon approval, the plan shall be incorporated into and become a part of this Order, as if fully set forth herein.

There is a possibility that the agency could make changes to the order based on the feedback received, Gillenwater said. If changes are made, the consent order would go back to Welch to review and sign, then the revised consent order would again be put out for public comment.

A finalized consent order would allow Freedom to apply for the DEP's Voluntary Remediation Program, which has an established framework already in place for site remediation. Any company with any outstanding orders would not be allowed to apply for that program.

Originally posted here:

Possible agreement to be reached in Freedom Industries remediation in Charleston, WV