A malfunctioning valve at Woodall Chevrolet Monday morning spilled 400 gallons of motor oil onto the floor of the parts department and service area — and some of it seeped into the Dan River.
The oil spill occurred downstream from Danville’s raw water intake, but downstream water users have been notified.
“Most of the oil had been contained by employees of the dealership; however, some had flowed outside and due to the rainfall had gotten into a storm drain and into the Dan River,” according to a news release from Danville Fire Department Battalion Chief F.D. Fowler.
The fire department covered drains and placed hazardous-materials booms in the water at the storm drain behind the dealership to contain most of the spilled motor oil.
The Virginia Department of Emergency Management and The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality were called about the incident and recommended a contractor clean-up out of Concord. Crews will be on the scene for the next couple of days, Fowler wrote in a news release, working to get rest of the oil out of the river and the business.
“Personnel at the business where extremely cooperative and helped to insure that the cleanup was handled with the least impact to the environment as possible,” Fowler wrote.
The fire department responded with two chief officers, one ladder truck, an engine and the hazardous materials spill unit.
This article originally appeared on Go Dan River.
