A storage tank with the chemical designation MCHM, 4-methylcyclohexane methanol, the chemical that leaked into the Elk River, is shown at Freedom Industries storage facility in Charleston, W.Va., Monday, Jan. 13, 2014. The ban on tap water for parts of West Virginia was lifted on Monday, ending a crisis for a fraction of the 300,000 people who were told not to drink, wash or cook with water after a chemical spill tainted the water supply. Gov. Earl Tomblin made the announcement at a news conference, five days after people were told to use the water only to flush their toilets. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

ST. ALBANS, W.Va. (WOWK) – It didn’t happen. Despite reports suggesting a spill of MCHM in a waterway above Madison, West Virginia, WOWK 13 News can confirm there was, in fact, no such spill. At around 1 p.m. on September 10, 2019, St. Albans Mayor Scott James posted to facebook that there had been a spill of MCHM into the river.

Theodore Carter from the Lincoln Public Services District water plant tells WOWK 13 News the incident has been investigated by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources and they have determined there has been no chemical spill.

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection says they have no confirmation of a spill. An anonymous report of coal companies contaminating streams resulting in water discoloration and a suspicious smell near the city of Greenwood in Boone County was sent to the National Response Center, which was then sent to the WVDEP’s Homeland Security and Emergency Response Unit. The WVDEP notified its inspectors in its Division of Mining and Reclamation (DMR), who are currently investigating the claims in the report, as well as the state Division of Health and Human Resource’s Bureau for Public Health (DHHR-BPH).

This is a developing story, and we will continue to update it on WOWKTV.com, the WOWK 13 News App, and on 13 News on air.