DEP seeks injunction against Fayette Co. facility

FAYETTEVILLE — A West Virginia state official has sued seeking injunctive relief against a private business.

Scott G. Mandirola, director of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Water and Waste Management, (WVDEP) filed a lawsuit in Fayette Circuit Court against Walt’s Betterway Limited of Meadow Bridge, alleging negligence.

According to the complaint, Walt's Betterway continued to operate underground storage tanks at its 19 Patterson Mountain Road premises in Meadow Bridge, despite its charter being revoked by the state starting in 1997. The suit states WVDEP issued a violation notice to the defendant Sept. 24, 2009, for failure to make payments, and later ordered the defendant to pay fees of $2,825 on Sept. 7, 2010, which have since increased to $2,925.

The suit says when the plaintiff inspected the Betterway property April 18, 2012, it determined the defendant had failed to continue operations, maintain corrosion protection and seal a substandard tank. The complaint states Betterway was notified of the violations on April 27, 2012, that Betterway has not complied with the WVDEP’s orders, in violation of law, and that the site constitutes a public nuisance.

Mandirola seeks: injunctive action forcing remediation and prohibiting future violations; payment of $2,925; civil penalties; attorney fees; and costs. He is represented by attorney Jason Wandling of WVDEP’s Office of Legal Services in Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Paul M. Blake, Jr.

Fayette Circuit Court case number: 15-C-132