The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has issued a request for corrective action to Faith Mulch after an accidental dye spill discolored Campbell Branch, a tributary of the Mayo River, earlier this month.
The request follows the July 18 spill of blue-green dyed hydroseeding mulch, which prompted a response from local officials after a resident reported the discolored water.
According to the DEQ, the spilled material is a nontoxic, blue-green dyed hydroseeding mulch.
DEQ Pollution Response Team Coordinator Allen Linkenhoker, who is also serving as the case manager, said he sent the request for corrective action on July 19.
“I said just in general they need to take steps to prevent future discharge, and they’re already doing some work in that regard. Faith Mulch have done a considerable amount of clean up and they are implementing measures. They already got some measures in place to prevent things like that in the future,” he said.
Linkenhoker said the company is also working to create a system to filter and contain runoff, working to prevent any discharges in the future from the equipment that failed, and planning out what to do if it does happen again.
“How to contain what’s released,” he said.
Linkenhoker said he came to Stuart on July 22 to take samples of Campbell Branch’s water.
“Unfortunately, I arrived right in the middle” of significant rainfall. “It was all floodwater at that point. The little creek was full to the top of the banks with muddy floodwater, and the South Mayo was the same,” he said.
Linkenhoker said he also looked around the site.
Since this is still an open investigation, Linkenhoker said the DEQ will monitor Faith Mulch and evaluate its options in terms of with what the appropriate response will be.
“There’s a whole array of options that we have, everything from a notice of violation — which that’s an enforcement process — to telling them they need to obtain a permit from us and come up with some kind of more formalized plan and do periodic monitoring themselves,” he said, adding the DEQ could also fine the company for the dye spill.
“There’s more work to be done, and there’s more oversight and more involvement to come,” he said.
Noting there’s a process underway, Linkenhoker said “We’re working through that, and they are being responsive.”
Representatives with Faith Mulch did not respond to requests for comment.
