http://www.tricities.com/tristate/tr...6-06-0023.html
EPA cleaning up abandoned chemicals in Southwest Virginia

Wednesday, Jun 06, 2007 - 03:00 PM

BY BECKY CAMPBELL

HILTONS, Va. ? Federal environmental regulators converged Wednesday on an abandoned recycling business here, where more than 200,000 gallons of used motor oil and other chemicals were stored ? some of it seeping into the ground and threatening a nearby creek.

The defunct J&W Recyling could face criminal charges, said officials with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Bob Kelly, of the Philadelphia EPA office and the on-scene coordinator of what will be a $90,000 cleanup in Scott County, said there's no way to know how much ? if any ? used motor oil has leaked from hundreds of metal drums.

Kelly conceded, however, that there was great potential for the material to seep into nearby Hilton's Creek, which flows into the Holston River.

The owner of J&W Recycling, Jerry Bledsoe, could not be reached for comment by this afternoon.

The storage containers include about 200 55-gallon barrels as well as above-ground storage containers that hold 10,000, 15,000 and 20,000 gallons of material.

Watch News Channel 11 at 5 and 6 and check tomorrow's edition of the Bristol Herald Courier for more on this situation.