Ohio EPA investigating Dover Chemical release and fish kills in Sugar Creek
The Ohio EPA has provided the following statement to WJER regarding an incident earlier this month:
“On Sept. 9, Ohio EPA’s Office of Emergency Response (OER), along with the Ohio Division of Natural Resources, responded to reports of numerous dead fish in Sugar Creek.
A release of a phenol-based material occurred from the Dover Chemical Company on September 6th. The spill happened within a contained area of the plant and was managed within an engineered containment system.
Unbeknownst to the company, a bad pipe fitting on a drain allowed a portion of the material to leak from the containment area and impact the plant’s permitted discharge of treated wastewater that flows into Sugar Creek. The discharge into Sugar Creek lasted less than 10 minutes and appeared to be limited to an area near the discharge pool. No lingering effects from the release were observed in Sugar Creek at the time of Ohio EPA’s investigation.
Ohio EPA’s Division of Surface Water is working with the company on its response actions and evaluation of the wastewater discharge issue.”