Franklin, Va.-Ashland Hercules has agreed with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to pay a $14,014 fine for an ammonia release that contaminated water, causing the deaths of hundreds of minnow-sized fish. According to DEQ Enforcement Specialist Paul Smith, the ammonia release Sept. 16 was caused by a refrigerant leak in a cooler pipe that came in contact with cooling water, but was not released into outside waters. "It didn't enter the Nottoway River, but the contaminated water was confined to the plant in a big ditch on the property before it reaches the outfall," Smith explained. He said there was no evidence the ammonia reached the river. Still, he estimated that there were enough minnows and small fish that were affected to fill four five-gallon buckets, and estimated that the numbers would be in the hundreds.
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