UPDATED STORY: WVDEP Responds to Questions Regarding Storage Tank Found Near Wheeling Creek
More details have been made available to the Hudson Household Editorial regarding the previously unknown storage tank found at the intersection of Nailers Way, 16th St, and Main St.
Read the original story posted on April 14 as well as the April 17 update exclusively on the Hudson Household Editorial. Further updates will be made as requests for comments are submitted.
The Hudson Household Editorial has been reporting on a storage tank found buried feet from Wheeling Creek during the construction of the Nailers Way extension as part of the Wheeling Streetscape Project. More details regarding the previously unknown storage tank have been confirmed to the Hudson Household Editorial by Mr Terry Fletcher, Chief Communications Officers of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. This is a state project controlled by the WV Department of Transportation and the Division of Highways.

This project at the intersection of Nailers Way, 16th St, and Main St, was contracted by the WVDOH to Triton Construction of West Virginia. Triton Construction contracted Miller Environmental of Ohio to perform the sampling and testing of the contents of the tank.
Previous comments received by the WVDOT alluded to there being multiple tanks discovered; this has been corrected, a single tank was discovered. The contents of the tank are still unknown, but an “odor of aged diesel fuel” was reported from the tank, Fletcher said.
What appeared to be water in the tank was removed on Friday, April 14. The tank had also been partially filled with sand, which crews removed and placed into “covered roll off boxes for sampling and disposal,” Fletcher said. No indication was given for when test results can be expected, but Miller Environmental will submit their results to WVDEP once completed.
When asked if there was any risk posed to Wheeling Creek and the Ohio River, Fletcher said, “The WVDEP has not observed evidence that would indicate this situation poses an immediate threat.” Crews successfully removed the tank on Monday, April 17, and work has continued at the site.
A request for comment from the City of Wheeling has not been returned, but Michelle Rejonis, Marketing and Community Relations Specialist for the city confirmed to the Hudson Household Editorial that the questions submitted were elevated to City Manager Robert Herron, but have not received a response. You can view those questions in our previous update on this story.
A request for comment from the WVDOT regarding the neglected storm drainage system under Nailers Way Extension has not been answered. As reported, this street originally opened in June 2022 after “three years” of planning, but was closed less than six months later due to the lack of storm drainage.
This is a breaking news story exclusively reported by the Hudson Household Editorial. You can view the original story from April 14 and the updated story from April 17 by visiting the Hudson Household Editorial’s substack page. Further updates will be made as requests for comments are submitted.