An act of vandalism has been blamed for an oil spill in the Pond Fork River of Boone County Saturday night.
According to the Van Fire Department, vandals drained an oil tank from a coal substation. Firefighters say the oil leaked from sediment ponds into Pond Fork of the Little Coal River near Madison.
Firefighters say the vandalized tank holds around 5,000 gallons of oil. It’s unknown how much oil escaped from the tank.
Boone County firefighters said they went up to check the substation owned by Lexington Coal Company in the Jacks Branch area after a resident reported an oil sheen on the Pond Fork River.
Firefighters said they found the station had been vandalized with the gate to the tank cut and the valve open to let oil leak out.
The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection was called out to investigate. Officials with the DEP said the tank contained mineral oil .
It is currently unknown how much oil was released.
The DEP said they will continue to test the river and haven’t found any evidence of wildlife being harmed by the spill.
The DEP said the spill has been contained after crews put down mats. The DEP also says the valve has been shut off and the inflow from the sediment pond to the river has been shut off by the Lexington Coal Company.