DUNKARD CREEK FISH KILL SETTLEMENT
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Monday,
March 14, 2011 @ 3:07
PM
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The
West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection
and the state Division
of Natural Resources have entered
into a proposed settlement with CONSOL
Energy in which the
company has agreed to pay $500,000 for natural resources
damages in Dunkard Creek in Monongalia County.
The $500,000 settlement is in addition to a $5.5 million
civil
penalty the company will pay and nearly $200 million
the company will spend
on the construction of an advanced
water treatment plant to address high
levels of chlorides
discharged from four of its underground mines in
northern
West Virginia. Both the civil penalty and the water
treatment
plant are part of a settlement the company
entered into with the U.S.
Department of Justice, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency and the
WVDEP.
In September 2009, thousands of fish, mussels and
amphibians were
killed in Dunkard Creek because of toxins
produced by Golden Algae that had
begun blooming in the
stream. Golden Algae, which is not native to West
Virginia’s fresh water streams, is more commonly found in
brackish or
salty water bodies. Although it was never
determined how the Golden Algae
was introduced into Dunkard
Creek, research indicated that nutrients and
high levels of
chlorides and dissolved solids can contribute to its
growth.
“In the days immediately following the fish kill in Dunkard
Creek,
CONSOL voluntarily worked with the DEP and the EPA
to proactively manage
their mining operations to minimize
the risk of another algae outbreak while
at the same time
keeping their miners working,” said DEP Cabinet Secretary
Randy Huffman.
With requirements put in place by the WVDEP to reduce the
amount of
chlorides and total dissolved solids (TDS) in
Dunkard Creek, the Monongalia
County stream continues to
avoid dangerous algae blooms that can threaten
aquatic life.
Additionally, the state DNR reports that fish are returning
to Dunkard Creek following the massive kill. A fish survey
conducted at
one station on Dunkard Creek a month following
the September 2009 fish kill
revealed only four species of
fish. By July 2010, sampling revealed 29
species at that
same station. In 2005, the same location had 33 species.
On Dec. 18, 2009, the WVDEP issued the first of two orders
to CONSOL
that addressed the company’s mine water
management in relation to CONSOL
pumping water from its
underground mining operations into Dunkard Creek;
established Golden Algae monitoring requirements for
CONSOL; called for
the company to monitor for chlorides,
TDS, selenium and specific conductance
at various outlets
on Dunkard Creek; and set chloride and specific
conductance
levels for CONSOL discharges.
Patrick Campbell, of the WVDEP’s Division of Water and
Waste
Management, said Dunkard Creek has been free of
Golden Algae since January
2010.
“Multiple locations on Dunkard Creek have been monitored
weekly by
the company and periodically by us (WVDEP) since
January and nothing has
turned up,” Campbell said. “We also
sampled 40 other locations around the
state last summer and
didn’t find Golden Algae, which I think is
significant. As
far as we can tell right now, this was isolated to Dunkard
Creek.”
Still, Campbell said the WVDEP would likely monitor for
Golden
Algae “for the next four or five years or until we
get some confidence level
that this was an isolated event.”
Although it will likely take decades for
the mussel
population to return, DNR biologists found that fish such
as
minnows, darters and suckers are returning to Dunkard
Creek from tributaries
and some reproduction is occurring.
“This is a reflection that water quality
has improved and
is being maintained,” Campbell said.
Mining is critical to our state’s economy, but clean water
is
paramount. The cooperative efforts by all involved are
protecting both.
According to CONSOL, not one job will be
lost, but the plan will result in
clean water.