Oil Tanker Derails In West Virginia

By Kris Maher 

West Virginia State Police evacuated residents of a small community near the capital of Charleston Monday after a train carrying crude oil derailed, causing a house to catch fire and oil to leak into the Kanawha River, according to state officials.

At least one tanker car, and possibly more, had fallen into the river, prompting concerns about potential contamination of water treatment facilities that serve two small downstream communities, said Lawrence Messina, a spokesman for the West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety.

As of Monday afternoon, no injuries had been reported from the derailment or the fire, which some eyewitnesses said followed an explosion, according to Mr. Messina.

State health officials said the intakes for water systems that serve the towns of Montgomery, W.V., and Cedar Grove, W.Va., would be shut Monday afternoon as a precaution. One facility is operated by West Virginia American Water, whose treatment plant was contaminated early last year by a chemical spill on the Elk River outside Charleston which disrupted water service for 300,000 residents.

"We're obviously very mindful of that, and the Department of Health and Human Resources is responding because of the potential threat to drinking water," Mr. Messina said.

Laura Jordan, a spokeswoman for West Virginia American Water, said the Montgomery water system serves about 2,000 customers. The company has asked residents to conserve water. Under normal use, the system has enough water to keep pipes pressurized for about 12 hours, she said.

Ms. Jordan said the water company doesn't believe the crude oil spill has affected its water plant, but it is working with state officials to determine when its water intake can be reopened.

A spokeswoman for CSX Corp., which state officials said operated the train, couldn't immediately be reached to comment.

It wasn't yet clear what caused the derailment. State officials believe the train derailed at about 1:20 p.m. Monday along the Kanawha River about 30 miles from Charleston, near Mt. Carbon, W.Va., which has about 400 residents.

Write to Kris Maher at [e-mail]

Access Investor Kit for CSX Corp.

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US1264081035

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires