Observer-Reporter, September 16, 2009

Agencies investigate large fish kill

By Bob Niedbala, Staff writer, _niedbala@observer-reporter.com_ (mailto:niedbala@observer-reporter.com)

State and federal environmental agencies continue to investigate a large fish kill on Dunkard Creek and may be coming closer to determining its cause. The kill was first reported Sept. 1 near Pentress, W.Va. It has since moved downstream past Mt. Morris and, according to some sources, stretches as far as Pigeon Hole Road in Dunkard Township. The kill was believed to have subsided last week, but additional fresh fish kills were discovered during the past weekend, said Helen Humphreys, spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Protection. "Either this is ongoing or it's a second slug of pollutants moving downstream," she said. The incident has killed hundreds of fish including bass, muskies, white suckers, catfish and red horse fish, as well as other forms of aquatic life such as mussels and mud puppies, she said. Humphreys said at one site near Brave more than 300 dead fish were found representing 18 species. Pennsylvania and West Virginia environmental protection agencies as well as the federal Environmental Protection Agency continue to investigate the kill. "Right now," Humphreys said, "I don't think anybody has conclusively identified the source." One of the possible pollutants the agencies are now considering is total dissolved solids, Humphreys said. Very high levels of total dissolved solids have been found in the water, particularly in the West Virginia portion of the stream. The solids included high levels of chlorides, which is indicator of mine discharges, Humphreys said. Investigators are looking at discharges from three active mining operations in the watershed, she said. A preliminary report prepared by the EPA indicated a likely source may be Consol Energy's Blacksvlle No. 2 Mine because of high levels of chloride in its waste water. EPA spokesman David Sternberg said, however, investigators have not determined that the mine is the source of the pollution. "We suspect Blacksville No. 2 may have been a source but we can't rule out other sources right now," he said. Consol Energy spokesman Joe Cerenzia said the company is aware of the fish kill and is working with state and federal agencies investigating it, but to the company's knowledge, the agencies have not conclusively pinpointed the cause. Kathy Cosco, spokeswoman for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, said her agency has had people out at the creek everyday and continues to collect information from water samples and monitoring stations. The agency still needs a little more data before it attempts to draw any conclusions about the cause and the source, she said. "We're not ready to point any fingers yet," she said. Tom Burrie, 31, of Carmichaels, who has fished in the creek since his youth, said he checked the stream Tuesday and estimated thousands of fish have died. Burrie said he could see fish attempting to swim into tributaries to the creek trying to get to fresh water. Some of the dead muskies he saw, Burrie said, were more than 42 inches long. "Everything in the water is dead, clams, mud puppies everything," he said. "It will take years for that creek to recover."

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