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After Four Months, Orange Gel Spill Remains A Mystery

WEST UNION, W.Va. (AP) — Four months after a spill left 2 inches of orange gel on a Doddridge County stream, officials in West Union are still awaiting answers. The spill was on Buckeye Run in August, and Tapo Energy of West Union was cited. A cleanup crew vacuumed up 2,500 gallons of gel.

WEST UNION, W.Va. (AP) — Four months after a spill left 2 inches of orange gel on a Doddridge County stream, officials in West Union are still awaiting answers.

The spill was on Buckeye Run in August, and Tapo Energy of West Union was cited. A cleanup crew vacuumed up 2,500 gallons of gel.

But local authorities didn't learn of the spill until October. Duane Reynolds, operator of the city's water treatment plant, says he's still waiting for the Department of Environmental Protection to say what caused it.

DEP oil and gas chief James Martin says his agency is still investigating the cause and what was in the orange gel.

Reynolds worries that he wasn't notified of the spill. The DEP says it would have called had the water treatment plant been at risk.