CLEAR October 2009

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Dunkard Creek & Monongahela River
by Duane330＠aol.com 17 Oct '09

17 Oct '09

Fish kill prompts Pa. to seek brine well shutdown The Associated Press, Friday, October 16, 2009, Philadelphia Inquirer HARRISBURG, Pa. - The federal government is considering a request to shut down an underground coalbed-methane wastewater storage operation that Pennsylvania officials suspect contributed to a massive fish kill. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency spokesman David Sternberg said Friday that his agency is preparing a response to the Oct. 5 request from Pennsylvania's environmental regulators. Environmental officials in Pennsylvania and West Virginia are pursuing the cause behind the death of fish, mussels, salamanders and other aquatic life in Dunkard Creek. The 38-mile creek meanders along the states' border. A 2005 EPA permit allows a Consol Energy subsidiary to inject the brine into underground caverns. The water is left over from methane drilling on a closed coal mine. A company spokesman says it doesn't believe the brine is the source of the fish kill. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Levels of total dissolved solids spike in Monongahela Thursday, October 15, 2009, By Don Hopey, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette _http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09288/1005633-113.stm_ (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09288/1005633-113.stm) For the third time in the past 12 months, dissolved contaminants in the Monongahela River have spiked well above federal and state water quality standards for taste and odor, and the situation is expected to get worse. The state Department of Environmental Protection announced yesterday that high levels of total dissolved solids, or TDS, in the river began showing up two weeks ago near the town of Crucible in Greene County. Since then, additional violations of the 500 parts per million TDS standard have been recorded in 46 miles of the river to Elizabeth in Allegheny County, where levels peaked on Saturday at about 600 parts per million. "This is the second time we've noted high TDS levels this fall and that's telling us that this is a problem," said DEP spokeswoman Helen Humphreys. "We'll be continuing to monitor the situation, but there's no reason to think that levels will not go higher again. There's no question we have a challenge before us." Last fall TDS levels exceeded water quality standards in more than 90 miles of the river and peaked at more than 900 parts per million. The Monongahela River is the water supply for 350,000 people and the 11 public water treatment facilities that draw water from the river are not equipped to remove TDS, which is a measure of all elements dissolved in water, including carbonates, chlorides, sulfates, nitrates, sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium. For most, high TDS levels will make the water smell and taste bad and spot dishes and glasses but do not make an affected water source unsafe to drink. But individuals allergic to sulfates can be sickened, and the DEP has once again advised concerned residents to use bottled water for drinking and cooking until river flows increase and TDS levels return to normal. Sources of TDS include sewage treatment plants, drainage from abandoned and active mines, power plant scrubber and coolant water discharges and wastewater from oil and gas well drilling operations. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Drilling water may be cause of fish kill -- DEP points to salty discharge from mine Wednesday, October 14, 2009, By Don Hopey, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette _http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09287/1005306-113.stm_ (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09287/1005306-113.stm) A heretofore undisclosed underground flow of mine pool and methane gas well drilling water into Consol Energy's Blacksville No. 2 Mine may have contributed to the salty, polluted discharges that caused the massive, month-long fish kill on Dunkard Creek. But Consol said that's not so, and its investigation, along with those of federal and state environmental agencies into the now six-week-old ecological disaster, is continuing. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection said its stream sampling shows discharges high in dissolved solids and chlorides from the Blacksville No. 2 Mine are the "primary immediate source" of the fish kill that last month wiped out aquatic life on 35 miles of Dunkard Creek along the Pennsylvania-West Virginia border. The DEP also said in a letter to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, dated Oct. 2, that it has obtained information that water from the inactive Blacksville No. 1 Mine in the Pittsburgh coal seam is flowing into the active Blacksville No. 2 mine pool. "Our data shows it's the discharge from Blacksville No. 2, but we have a lot of questions about where all that water originated and we're asking those questions," said Helen Humphreys, a DEP spokeswoman. In a letter to Consol dated Oct. 7 but made public yesterday, the DEP asked the company to provide information on any underground connections and water flows or pumping between its active Blacksville No. 2 Mine in West Virginia and its inactive Blacksville No. 1 Mine in Greene County, Pennsylvania. It also requested that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency revoke the federal deep well injection permit that allows Consol to dispose of coalbed methane drilling waste water in the inactive mine through the Morris Run Borehole. The EPA ordered Consol to stop injections at the end of September but has taken no action on the permit. Consol has repeatedly said that the water in the inactive Blacksville No. 1 mine is not flowing or being pumped into the active Blacksville No. 2 mine. Yesterday Consol spokesman Tom Hoffman said the company's chemical analysis of water from the active mine shows its chloride level is the same as it was before it began using the borehole. That shows, Mr. Hoffman said, that either there is no infiltration of water into Blacksville No. 2 or the chloride levels of the water in the two mines are nearly the same. "We've been discharging from (Blacksville No. 2) for more than a year at essentially the same levels," Mr. Hoffman said. "No one on our side is prepared to say that the fish kill is related to the discharge. And I don't think it's fair to say the Blacksville No. 2 discharge is the primary factor." Mr. Hoffman said "multiple environmental factors were involved," including toxins released by a non-indigenous golden algae. The Pennsylvania DEP said that algae -- which may have "hitchhiked" to the Mason-Dixon Line on drilling rigs brought up from Texas to work in the Marcellus shale gas fields in Pennsylvania and West Virginia -- was able to flourish in a brackish Dunkard Creek because of the high levels of dissolved solids and chlorides discharged into the stream by Consol's treatment facility. "We don't agree and don't think the West Virginia DEP agrees," said Mr. Hoffman. Fish, freshwater mussels, salamanders and aquatic insects started dying on Sept. 1, and continued dying throughout the month. According to the Pennsylvania DEP, the pollution also threatened water quality in the Monongahela River, which is a source of drinking water for 850,000 people in southwestern Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania DEP asked the West Virginia DEP, in its Oct. 2 letter, to "take necessary enforcement measures" to control pollution discharges of total dissolved solids, chlorides and sulfides from the Blacksville No. 2 mine treatment facility. That Consol treatment facility, which does not remove dissolved solids or salts, stopped treating and pumping mine water into the creek as the fish kill progressed last month. But Pennsylvania DEP wants assurances that the previous pollution loads will not be discharged into the creek again when it becomes necessary for Consol to resume pumping and treating water from its active mine. "We have also observed that the levels of chlorides being discharged from ... the Blacksville No. 2 Mine are unusually high for a discharge solely from a deep mine," the Pennsylvania DEP said in that Oct. 2 letter. The West Virginia coal seam being mined by Consol has an unusually high chloride content. The West Virginia DEP approved orders in 2004, 2007 and 2008 allowing the company's treatment facilities to discharge unlimited amounts of chloride into the creek until 2013. The EPA, which said two weeks ago it didn't know about those agreements, is reviewing them because they appear to illegally suspend federal water quality standards. "The department has been clear all along: This has been a tragic event," Ms. Humphreys said. "And we are going to take the necessary steps to methodically collect all information so that when we determine the responsible party we can take appropriate enforcement action." >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> *Release Date: 10/13/2009, Contact: Delegate Barabara Fleischauer ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *_Legislature to Investigate Dunkard Creek Fish Kill_* MORGANTOWN, W.Va—The Joint Legislative Oversight Commission on State Water Resources will meet on Thursday, Oct. 15 to examine the 30-mile fish kill in Dunkard Creek. The meeting will take place at the State Capitol from 9-11 a.m. in Room 208-W, the Senate Judiciary Committee Room. It is open to the public. “The frustrating thing is that folks in the Upper Monongahela River Association predicted that something like this would happen last year. Although our local delegates introduced a bill last session, HB 2960, intended to remedy what happened, sometimes it takes a disaster to get legislation passed,” said Delegate Barbara Evans Fleischauer. The first report of a fish kill in Dunkard Creek, which criss-crosses the Mason-Dixon line, was recorded on Sept. 1, 2009. The kill has since affected at least 161 aquatic species. “Some of the thousands of fish that were killed were huge,” said Fleischauer. “It is particularly sad that this occurred in a beautiful stream that local residents had banded together to restore, maintain and protect through their watershed association.” There is not yet any official conclusion as to the factors which caused or contributed to the fish kill, but the presence of golden algae bloom, Prymnesium Parvum, which has not previously been identified in Mid-Atlantic waters, has been confirmed. Increased levels of total dissolved solids during the relevant time periods have also been recorded. House Bill 2960 was introduced during the Regular 2009 Session. It was sponsored by Delegates from the Dunkard Creek area including Fleischauer, Marshall, Beach and Shook (all D-Monongalia) and Delegates Manypenny (D-Taylor) and Longstreth (D-Marion). It would have required the DEP to establish standards to control the levels of total dissolved solids in state waters. In addition, the bill would require submission of data to the DEP regarding withdrawal of water for fracturing and other purposes, as well as treatment for discharge of fluids into state waters. The bill did not pass, but legislators plan to reintroduce it in the 2010 Regular Session. The Joint Water Resources Committee is chaired by Delegate Tim Manchin (D-Marion) and Senator John Unger (D-Berkeley). “I hope the interim meeting on Thursday will bring attention to the causes of this modern environmental disaster. I think it is important to look quickly into what other states have done in order to prevent this from spreading to other streams in our state,” said Manchin. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~ Joint Legislative Oversight Commission on State Water Resources - Agenda for Thursday, October 15, 2009, 9:00 am - 11:00 am Location: Senate Judiciary - Room 208W 1. Call to Order, 2. Roll Call, 3. Adoption of Procedural Rules 4. Approval of Minutes for February, June, July and September 2009 5. Representative of EQT Corporation - discussion of Company’s recent contract with a waste water disposal facility to receive and process Marcellus gas well waste water for all the Company’s drilling operations in West Virginia. 6 Staff presentation of memos summarizing other states and West Virginia’s requirements for water use associated with Marcellus formation gas drilling operations. 7. Presentations on the 30-mile fish kill on Dunkard Creek in Monongalia County that occurred this month: a. Scott Mandirola, West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection; b. Frank Jernejcic, District Fisheries Biologist, West Virginia Department of Natural Resources. 8. Duane Nichols, Upper Mon River Association; 9. Adjournment >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> "Commission" (Committee) Members: SENATE: John Unger II (Chair, D-Berkeley Co.), John Pat Fanning* (D-McDowell Co.), Mike Green (Vice-Chair, D-Raleigh), Mike Hall* (R-Putnam Co.), Walt Helmick (D-Pocahontas Co.). HOUSE OF DELEGATES: Tim Manchin* (Chair, D-Marion Co.), Barbara Evans Fleischauer (D-Monongalia), Virginia Mahan (D-Summers), Tim Miley (D-Harrison), Don Perdue (D-Wayne), Bob Schadler* (R-Mineral). STAFF: Joe Altizer*, Teri Anderson*, Sandy Johnson*, Jay Lazell*. *-Legislators and staff members present for this hearing. Barbara Fleischauer could not attend due to another meeting in Martinsburg. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> NOTES: This meeting took place as scheduled. It was a little late starting and with the formal part complete by 10:45 giving some time for conversations. Item 5. refers to the new brine processing facility in Fairmont. The visitor from EQT (formerly Equitable Gas) was not a technical person and provided essentially no useful information. I did not see the Memos mentioned in Item 6. Numerous questions were asked and three or so reporters were present to collect informal interviews. EQT-- The Appalachian Basin is bursting with new drilling and production activity, and EQT Production is at the center of it all. With more than 3.4 million acres, approximately 13,000 gross productive wells, and 3 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves, EQT is Appalachia’s largest exploration and production company, developing and implementing advanced drilling technology to tap into unconventional reservoirs such as shale, tight sands and coalbed methane. The Equitable Gas Company is a division of EQT, providing natural gas to over 252,000 customers in 10 counties of southwestern PA and 25 counties of northern WV. Scott Mandirola, WVDEP, presented the same Power Point slides shown at the UMRA meeting this past Friday at the Morgantown Airport. [See: _www.uppermon.org_ (http://www.uppermon.org/) ] Frank Jernejcic, District Fisheries Biologist, WV DNR presented the same Power Point slides shown by David Wellman this past Friday at the Morgantown Airport. [See: _www.uppermon.org_ (http://www.uppermon.org/) ]. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Summary of Remarks by Duane Nichols in Charleston, WV, October 15, 2009. The Upper Mon River Association has conducted 11 monthly Water Quality Forums at the Morgantown Airport in Monongalia County since November of 2008. The primary impetus was originally the high TDS and low flows in the Monongahela River most noticeable in August of 2008. Since that time, problems of high TDS have continued in the Mon River and in a number of its tributaries. WV and Pennsylvania representatives have cooperated and participated in these Forums. The need now exists to establish water quality standards for all the streams of WV, given that the recent fish kill on Dunkard Creek was so devastating. This was initially a crisis situation which became a disaster and a catastrophe. Thousands of fish, mussels, and other creatures are dead and no one knows how to regenerate the stream. The conditions on Dunkard Creek could be repeated on 18 or more other streams throughout West Virginia. A water quality standard of 500 parts per million, for example, would meet national drinking water standards, and this would be sufficiently low as to remove threats of a golden algae bloom, according to the information currently available. UMRA encourages the WV DEP to implement a web-site as soon as possible, to present the most recent data and other information available on the Dunkard Creek disaster and other possibly related sources. We understand that some sort of web-site may be in preparation at WV DEP. The sharing of information and the coordination among the state agencies of WV and PA as well as the federal agencies is of critical importance at this time. UMRA intends to continue monthly Water Quality Forums in Monongalia County. It was noted earlier today that most of the large underground mines in north central WV and southwester PA are interconnected underground such that water flows from one to the under and accumulates at various locations. Pennsylvania is now in the process of establishing a legacy trust fund, to collect monies for future pumping and treating of these waters. It is suggested that the WV legislature could encourage such funds and that WV DEP and WV PSC could promote trust funds for future water treatment, given that abandoned mine land monies are scarce. The UMRA folding display entitled Upper Mon Water Trail was distributed to each member of the committee present along with copies of the two page “ 11th MONONGAHELA RIVER WATER QUALITY FORUM, Sponsored by the Upper Monongahela River Association, October 9, 2009 – Morgantown, WV, DRAFT OVERVIEW, 2009 Dunkard Creek Fish Kill”. The importance of the Monongahela River was reviewed, given its substantial usage for public water supplies, industrial water supplies and recreational activities. The high TDS values experienced by the Morgantown Utility Board last summer and this past summer were described. This results in problems for each household with foul taste, hard water for washing activities, and the clogging of values and pipes. The problems of TDS in the cooling water of the numerous power plants were described including the issue of violating federal emission standards from cooling towers and the accumulation of salt solids within the evaporative cooling towers. And, the issue of undesirable polluted water for recreational purposes was mentioned. This talk resulted in a number of comments afterward indicating substantial sympathy among the committee members and the others present. It is estimated that approximately 25 observers attended this session, in addition to the “Commission” (Committee) and Staff. Attending the session was Don Garvin, Legislative Coordinator for the WV Environmental Council [www.wvecouncil.org], an umbrella organization representing the various environmental groups of the State. Beth Little of the Sierra Club attended. Also attending were David McMahon, an attorney for and founder of the WV Surface Owner’s Rights Organization [www.wvsoro.org] and Julie Archer also with wvsoro.org. Julie can also be reached at the WV Citizens Action Group [wvcag.org]. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>> Front page Charleston Gazette Friday 16 October 2009: DEP, DNR worried Dunkard fish kill could spread By _Ken Ward Jr._ (http://www.wvgazette.com/News/contact/xjneq+jitnmrggr+pbz+return=/News/2009…) , Staff writer, Charleston Gazettte CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- State regulators are concerned that excess pollution may cause a toxic algae that killed off fish in a 30-mile stretch of Dunkard Creek in Northern West Virginia to spread to more than a dozen other waterways, lawmakers heard Thursday. Department of Environmental Protection officials don't think they can eradicate the "golden algae" and instead are weighing ways to reduce contaminants that fostered the devastating fish kill in Monongalia County. "We can't ignore it," said Scott Mandirola, director of DEP's Division of Water and Waste Management. "If we ignore it, we may see an event like this again." Mandirola and Frank Jernejcic, a fisheries biologist at the state Division of Natural Resources, briefed a legislative interim committee Thursday morning on last month's fish kill, which left Dunkard Creek mostly lifeless. Jernejcic said the fish kill wiped out 99 percent of the fish in the West Virginia portion of Dunkard Creek, which runs along the Pennsylvania border. Also, it eliminated the creek's "very impressive mussel population," the major stronghold for mussels in the Monongahela River basin, Jernejcic said. Jernejcic explained that many of the creek's larger fish -- including muskies and smallmouth bass -- appeared to have tried to escape the algae by swimming into tiny tributaries. Many of them died when they swam back out into the main creek or starved in the tributaries, Jernejcic said. DEP and DNR officials in West Virginia have blamed the fish kill directly on the golden algae, but have conceded that high levels of pollution tied to several CONSOL Energy mine discharges made conditions nearly perfect for the algae to spread. Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection officials have pointed specifically to the discharge from the pools of polluted underground water at CONSOL's Blacksville No. 1 and No. 2 mines. Those are among two large pools of underground water in the region, where CONSOL has allowed older abandoned mines to fill with water as it pumps water out of active operations to allow Asked after the legislative meeting about the Pennsylvania conclusions, Mandirola said he does not disagree with them. Mandirola said high levels of total suspended solids, including salts such as chlorides and sulfates, helped foster the algae growth. Regulators often measure these materials by testing a stream's conductivity, or ionic strength, which is the ability of the water to conduct an electric charge. Water quality officials aren't sure how the golden algae -- which is normally not found in this part of the United States -- was transported into Dunkard Creek. It could have been brought in by waterfowl, on anglers' boots or in any number of other ways, officials said. During Thursday's meeting, Mandirola showed lawmakers a chart listing at least 18 other streams across West Virginia that have similar pollution problems. The list included the North Branch of the Potomac River, the Mud River and the Little Coal River. "Those are all now of concern because of this threat," Mandirola said. DEP plans to test those streams to see if they contain low levels of golden algae that are not yet toxic, Mandirola said. DEP officials are also considering speeding up a timetable for writing the state's first water quality standard for total suspended solids, or TDS. And, Mandirola said, the agency needs to re-examine its general policy so far of not writing pollution reduction plans for streams with high levels of conductivity. Duane Nichols, a chemical engineer and spokesman for the Upper Monongahela River Association, said the state should have seen Dunkard Creek coming and now needs to take steps to avoid a repeat of the fish kill. "What we saw as a crisis became a disaster," Nichols said. "We have a catastrophe on our hands up in Northern West Virginia. If we had done this earlier, we wouldn't have this problem." >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

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TDS exceedances in Mon River
by Duane330＠aol.com 15 Oct '09

15 Oct '09

Levels of total dissolved solids spike in Monongahela Thursday, October 15, 2009 By Don Hopey, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette For the third time in the past 12 months, dissolved contaminants in the Monongahela River have spiked well above federal and state water quality standards for taste and odor, and the situation is expected to get worse. The state Department of Environmental Protection announced yesterday that high levels of total dissolved solids, or TDS, in the river began showing up two weeks ago near the town of Crucible in Greene County. Since then, additional violations of the 500 parts per million TDS standard have been recorded in 46 miles of the river to Elizabeth in Allegheny County, where levels peaked on Saturday at about 600 parts per million. "This is the second time we've noted high TDS levels this fall and that's telling us that this is a problem," said DEP spokeswoman Helen Humphreys. "We'll be continuing to monitor the situation, but there's no reason to think that levels will not go higher again. There's no question we have a challenge before us." Last fall TDS levels exceeded water quality standards in more than 90 miles of the river and peaked at more than 900 parts per million. The Monongahela River is the water supply for 350,000 people and the 11 public water treatment facilities that draw water from the river are not equipped to remove TDS, which is a measure of all elements dissolved in water, including carbonates, chlorides, sulfates, nitrates, sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium. For most, high TDS levels will make the water smell and taste bad and spot dishes and glasses but do not make an affected water source unsafe to drink. But individuals allergic to sulfates can be sickened, and the DEP has once again advised concerned residents to use bottled water for drinking and cooking until river flows increase and TDS levels return to normal. Sources of TDS include sewage treatment plants, drainage from abandoned and active mines, power plant scrubber and coolant water discharges and wastewater from oil and gas well drilling operations. Don Hopey can be reached at _dhopey(a)post-gazette.com_ (mailto:dhopey@post-gazette.com) or 412-263-1983. Read more: _http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09288/1005633-113.stm#ixzz0U48MUJHa_ (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09288/1005633-113.stm#ixzz0U48MUJHa)

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Dunkard algae could spread ..........
by Duane330＠aol.com 14 Oct '09

14 Oct '09

----- Original Message ----- From: _Wallace Venable_ (mailto:Wallace.Venable@mail.wvu.edu) To: _dcsoinks(a)comcast.net_ (mailto:dcsoinks@comcast.net) Sent: Wednesday, October 14, 2009 2:15 PM Subject: Dunkard Creek information just posted on _www.UpperMon.org_ (http://www.uppermon.org/) including PowerPoints from MRRCC 9 October Meeting >From _http://www.uppermon.org/Dunkard_Creek/index.html_ (http://www.uppermon.org/Dunkard_Creek/index.html) MRR&CC Mon River Water Quality Forum - 9 October, 2009 The 9 October 2009 meeting of the Mon River Water Quality Forum focused on the Dunkard Creek fish kill. We offer .PDF versions of the following PowerPoint presentations which were made: _Dunkard Creek Fish Kill Assessment - September 2009_ (http://www.uppermon.org/Dunkard_Creek/WVDNR_Wellman_Dunkard-9Oct09.pdf) Frank Jernejcic and David Wellman, Fisheries Biologists, West Virginia Division of Natural Resources - Wildlife Resources Section _Dunkard Creek Aquatic Life Kills - September, 2009_ (http://www.uppermon.org/Dunkard_Creek/WVDEP_Campbell_Dunkard-9Oct09.pdf) Patrick Campbell, West Virginia DEP-DWWM (Division of Water and Waste Management) _Upper Monongahela River Water Quality Project - Project WRI 119 - July to September 09 Results_ (http://www.uppermon.org/Dunkard_Creek/WRI_Ziemkiewicz_dunkard-9Oct09.pdf) Paul Ziemkiewicz, Water Research Institute - West Virginia University _Steele Shaft AMD Treatment Facility_ (http://www.uppermon.org/Dunkard_Creek/AMDRI_Roberts-9Oct09.pdf) Elizabeth Roberts, AMD Reclamation, Inc. And on _http://www.uppermon.org/Dunkard_Creek/Algae.html_ (http://www.uppermon.org/Dunkard_Creek/Algae.html) We have obtained several other references on golden alga: _Growth at the edge of the niche: An experimental study of the harmful alga Prymnesium parvum_ (http://www.uppermon.org/Dunkard_Creek/Baker_et_al-2009.pdf) Jason W. Baker, James P. Grover, Ratheesh Ramachandrannair, Cody Black, Theodore W. Valenti, Jr., Bryan W. Brooks, and Daniel L. Roelkec - Limnol. Oceanogr., 54(5), 2009, 1679–1687 _Growth and Toxicity of Prymnesium parvum (Haptophyta) as a Function of Salinity, Light, and Temperature_ (http://www.uppermon.org/Dunkard_Creek/Baker_et_al-2007.pdf) Jason W. Baker, James P. Grover, Bryan W. Brooks, Fabiola Urena-Boeck, Daniel L. Roelke, Reagan Errera, and Richard L. Kiesling - J. Phycol. 43, 219– 227 (2007)

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Snail and bat protection in the Cheat Canyon
by duane330＠aol.com 13 Oct '09

13 Oct '09

To:? CLEAR members and friends..... Attached, please find the Third Joint Status Report filed with the US District Court last week.? We have been informed by the new property owner Allegheny Heartland LLC that they have no current plans to do more logging in the Cheat Canyon.? The new owner leases logging rights to third parties while retaining ownership of the land.? They currently have no leases for the property, or any immediate prospects.? We have been informed that we will be notified should they lease any of the timbering rights covered under the Agreement.??? Please let me know if?you have any questions. ? Duane Nichols See attachment for the detailed report.

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Wildlife Viewing Area(s)
by Duane330＠aol.com 12 Oct '09

12 Oct '09

Subject: <clear> Questions from CLEAR to Allegheny Energy To and From: Andy Datsko, AE, Lake Lynn Dam & Cheat Lake [[See also: _www.cheatlaketoday.com_ (http://www.cheatlaketoday.com) ]] Please quickly tell me the status of things at the Cheat Lake Park and Trail... 1. When will you remove the day use boat docks? In the next 2 weeks. Our boat has been having some maintenance problems. 2. When will you close the South Trail? When will it open in the Spring? The trail will remain open weather permitting for the winter. If there are safety issues we will close it until the issue fixed. 3. Are both Trails currently open all the way to the end? Yes 4. What is the status of the three restroom facilities at (a) the Guard House, (b) the upper parking and day use "camping" area, and (c) adjacent to the fish cleaning station? The picnic area and fish cleaning rest rooms have been closed for the season. The one at the Admin building will remain open until mid November. At that time it will be closed and a porta john will be brought in. Unfortunately when the water system for the park was designed it was not designed for winter time operation. 5. Has a trail been marked thru the Cheat Haven Wildlife Viewing Area? No. We are waiting for FERC approval. 6. Is there access to the Lake at the end of the South Trail? No. This will be done in the spring. Do you know a contractor who can do this work? 7. Are there plans to install a boat dock at the end of the South Trail? Will be done when #6 is done. 8. Are there any "facilities" at the end of the South Trail, i.e. a bike rack, or camp table, or emergency phone? A bench is there. We will put in a bike rack in the spring as part of 6&7. 9. Tell me the Security Guard schedule, for example two shifts 7 to 3 and 3 to 11...?? We have coverage during daylight hours 112 hours per week. As we progress into the fall with decreasing hours of daylight we will move back to an 80 hour per week schedule. 10. What is the phone number for the Guards. 304-594-2817 11. Have there been any incidents in addition to the two boating accidents this summer? Boating accidents are not reported to us unless we are the reporting party. Thank you very much for relevant information at this time. Best regards................ Duane Nichols, CLEAR >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.. NOTE TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: Please let me know if you have questions or comments about the above information. Specifically let me know whether you support the establishment of a walking (hiking) trail within the Cheat Haven Wildlife Viewing Area, approximately 100 acres located at the far south end of the south trail (with limited public access). This area is adjacent to the old "slate dump" located in the big turn in the lake that is opposite Warm Hollow. CLEAR is considering a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission regarding the Wildlife Viewing Area(s). I understand that a few historical signs are being prepared for installation within the Cheat Haven Wildlife Viewing Area. In earlier years, this area was involved in surface mining and other possible activities including a railroad and a cable car system that crossed the lake. [There is another undeveloped Viewing Area near the end of Stewartstown Road, a few miles past the Forks of Cheat Winery, within a few hundred feet of the Lake Lynn Dam. A small parking area could be developed there along with a path going down close(r) to the Lake, perhaps with a bench and informative sign.]

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Update on Dunkard Creek
by duane330＠aol.com 11 Oct '09

11 Oct '09

EPA: Dunkard Creek algae first documented case in Mid-Atlantic states Ben Adducchio The fish kill affected more than 160 species of fish, salamanders and mussels in West Virginia and Pennsylvania. By Ben Adducchio, WV Public Broadcasting Download MP3 October 9, 2009 · The EPA made this announcement at a water quality forum Friday in Morgantown where state and federal officials discussed data and answered questions about the fish kill. The Environmental Protection Agency says the golden algae bloom, believed to be responsible for the Dunkard Creek fish kill, is the first documented case in the Mid-Atlantic states. More than 50 people crowded into a small room at the Morgantown Airport, many curious to hear if officials have any new information about what caused a massive fish kill on Dunkard Creek, a stream in western Monongalia County. The discussion focused on the creek’s high amount of total dissolved solids following the kill, water levels, and the golden algae bloom that the West Virginia DEP suspects contributed to the kill. But the DEP is still trying to determine what caused the algae bloom. Scott Mandirola is the acting director of the division of water and waste management for the West Virginia DEP. “I think the important fact is that it’s here,” he said, “we need to figure out, as fast as we can,20how to deal with it, how to control it, and how to exist with it in some of our water bodies.” The algae is known to kill aquatic life with gills in streams, and turtles over a longer period of time. One dead turtle was found at Dunkard. State Delegate Barbara Evans Fleischauer (D-Monongalia) says this has been a horrible crisis. “It’s just horrifying to see these pictures look at these numbers of how many fish have been killed. It’s really sad and it could have been prevented,” she said. Local residents want to know when the stream can be remediated, and how future fish kills can be prevented. Fleischauer thinks she can help with the prevention aspect. She plans to reintroduce legislation that would create state regulations on water withdrawals and standardize the amount of total dissolved solids in streams in the Monongahela River basin. “I think we need to get up to speed immediately, because there are going to be more streams in our state that are going to be devoid of fish,” she said. Some have argued West Virginia can come up to speed by changing the DEP’s compliance schedule with Consol Energy, which operates mines in the area. Currently, Consol has until 2013 to meet Clean Water Act standards for their acid mine discharges. Scott Mandirola with the DEP had no specifics on whether the compliance order will be amended. “We are going to continue with this compliance schedule, how it morphs one way or another, I couldn’t tell you,” he said. “If we determine that that is something that needs to be changed, we will change it accordingly to protect these streams from this algae.” The DEP is monitoring several other streams in the state with elevated TDS levels—Paw Paw Creek, Buffalo Creek, and Elk Creek, among others.

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Mon River conductivity -- August thru September 2009
by Duane330＠aol.com 30 Sep '09

30 Sep '09

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Monongahela River -- August thru September 2009
by Duane330＠aol.com 30 Sep '09

30 Sep '09

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CLEAR October 2009