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About 4,200 Gallons Of Oil Spilled In Pike County

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About 4,200 gallons of crude oil made it into streams and the Levisa Fork River before a Pike County spill was stopped on Thursday.

Pike County Emergency Management Director Doug Tackett told the Appalachian News-Express the spill was caused by a rock slide that either overturned or damaged a storage container at an oil well on Harmons Branch.

Tackett said a majority of the spill has been contained to Harmons Branch but some oil did make it to the river and cleanup is ongoing.

Tackett said Kinzer Drilling notified the agency of the spill on Thursday morning and requested assistance.

Tackett said he has warned the downstream water plants to keep a lookout for oil and shut their intakes down if they see it.