DEQ proposes $260,000 fine for Dominion’s two January oil spills in Virginia
Virginia's Department of Environmental Quality has proposed fining Dominion Virginia Power about $260,000 for two oil spills that fouled public waters in January, including a 13,500-gallon spill that flushed from a Crystal City substation into a waterfowl sanctuary and the Potomac River.
The environmental agency recommended on Monday that the utility pay a fine of $259,535 and reimburse the state $5,883 for its investigative costs related to both the Crystal City spill and a 9,000-gallon spill in Staunton in Augusta County.
The consent order is out for public comment for 30 days, after which it probably will end up at the State Water Control Board for action at its December meeting, said DEQ spokesman Bill Hayden. Dominion was required to monitor its wells for the past two weeks of October because of the spills and will have to do so again during the last two weeks of January 2017.
The proposed fine could have reached $1.3 million. Hayden said the recommended amount was based on investigation and analysis of the spill's impact.
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