Treatment bypass reported, Jul 14, 2026

Record details

Original source data

{
  "report": {
    "id": "325592",
    "via": "api",
    "incident": "2026-07-14T00:00:44",
    "incident_end": null,
    "received": "2026-10-02T03:18:37",
    "closed": "2026-10-05T09:14:11",
    "modified": "2026-10-13T09:57:21",
    "date_unknown": false,
    "site_name": "Reported Digester Gas Release Concern - Opequon Water Reclamation Facility",
    "address": "191 Hallowed Crossing Way",
    "city": "Winchester",
    "zip": "22602",
    "county_city": "Frederick County",
    "region": "Valley",
    "status_text": "Closed",
    "categories": [
      "Fugitive Emissions"
    ],
    "waterbody": null,
    "other_waterbody": null,
    "original_waterbody": null,
    "water_threatened": "N",
    "low": null,
    "high": null,
    "unit": null,
    "ssors": null,
    "nrc": [],
    "vdem": null,
    "epa": "CAA-FY27-367481-3714-CV",
    "facility_name": "Opequon Water Reclamation Facility",
    "facility_permitted": "Y",
    "responsible_company": null,
    "still_occurring": "Y"
  },
  "text": {
    "incident_comment": "This incident is actively under investigation by the Department of Environmental Quality. See the 'Reported Description of Incident' for the original report.\n\nReported ongoing atmospheric release of uncombusted anaerobic digester gas at the Opequon Water Reclamation Facility. The facility's digester-gas flare ignition system has reportedly been inoperative for more than two years. For a period of time the flare was manually relit when necessary, but routine manual relighting ceased approximately four months ago. Since then, digester gas that would otherwise be combusted has routinely been vented directly to the atmosphere.\nDuring a recent 20-day period, the digester-gas totalizer increased by 155,596 units. The totalizer is labeled \"×10 SCF,\" corresponding to approximately 1,555,960 standard cubic feet of gas over that period. This represents an average flow of approximately 54 SCFM, although the instantaneous flow varies substantially and may range from zero to more than 80–90 SCFM.\nThe facility also has equipment used to monitor the live gas concentration that is currently bypassed because associated equipment is inoperable. Unsure how current methane concentration of the gas being released.\nOngoing venting and the extended period during which the flare/ignition system has remained out of service.\nOn 10/2/26, I spoke with [name removed], Facility Manager.  He noted that the ignition system of the flare has not worked properly for a long period of time and he is working to resolve that issue.  Emissions of digester gas are not regulated by DEQ-Air, only emissions from the flare.  There is no violation of air permit or regulation.",
    "location_comment": "Opequon Water Reclamation Facility digester complex",
    "closure_comment": "Digester gas emissions are not regulated by DEQ-Air, only emissions from the flare.  Use of the flare is not required by air permit. There is no compliance issue."
  },
  "sewage": [],
  "status_log": [
    {
      "at": "2026-10-02T00:00:00",
      "type": "Phone Call"
    },
    {
      "at": "2026-10-02T03:18:37",
      "type": "Call Received"
    },
    {
      "at": "2026-10-02T07:58:30",
      "type": "Under Investigation"
    },
    {
      "at": "2026-10-02T07:58:30",
      "type": "Assigned"
    },
    {
      "at": "2026-10-05T09:14:11",
      "type": "Closed Call/IR"
    }
  ],
  "created_in_prep": "2026-10-02T03:18:37",
  "event_type_basis": "treatment-plant discharge not filed as a sanitary sewer overflow (category: Fugitive Emissions)",
  "permit": {
    "typed_permit": "VA0065552",
    "deq_vpdes_links": null,
    "ms4": null,
    "ms4_links": null,
    "basis": "permit number on the original report"
  },
  "discharger_match": {
    "by_permit": null,
    "by_name": null
  },
  "volume_basis": null,
  "_ended_at_basis": null,
  "_time_basis": "PReP API times are local wall-clock times with no zone, read as America/New_York. The export table stores local time + 5 h all year (decoded by subtracting 5 h); the EDMA point layer stores local time labelled as UTC (decoded by reading the UTC clock as local).",
  "water_placement": {
    "text": null,
    "towns": [
      "Winchester",
      "Frederick County"
    ],
    "notes": null,
    "echo_outfall": null
  },
  "point": {
    "lat": 39.17751,
    "lon": -78.076829,
    "layer": "DEQ EDMA layer 175 (PReP Reports, Daily)",
    "reference_point": "PG",
    "note": "DEQ's geocode of the report's site address (REFERENCE_POINT 'PG'), not an outfall point",
    "edma_incident": "2026-07-14T00:00:44-04:00",
    "edma_received": "2026-10-02T03:18:37-04:00"
  },
  "attribution": "DEQ is the data source. DEQ does not certify that this data represents a complete record. This data is provided to the citizens of the Commonwealth free of charge and for informational purposes only.",
  "api_url": "https://portal.deq.virginia.gov/prep/api/prepReports/325592?expand=prepStatusCode,prepUnitTypeCode,prepReportSewages.prepComponentTypeCode,prepReportSewages.prepSewageCauses.prepCauseCode,prepReportSewages.prepSewageImpacts.prepImpactTypeCode,prepReportReleaseSubtypes.prepReleaseSubtypeCode,prepReportPermitViews,prepOriginalReport,prepReportEvents.prepEventTypeCode,prepFipsCode.fipsRegion"
}

Source: Virginia DEQ Pollution Response Program (PReP), Valley Regional Office via Virginia DEQ Pollution Response Program (PReP) pollution reports, sewage-related, record 325592, reported Oct 2, 2026, 3:18 AM EDT, retrieved 2026-11-03 02:40 UTC · Read the original notice

Staff names, email addresses and phone numbers are removed from source data before it is stored.