Dunkard Creek Affluent Affected by Leak
Washington PA Observer Reporter
4 April 2012
By Bob Niedbala, Staff writer
niedbala@observer-reporter.com
West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection has issued a
notice of violation to a mining company that discharged untreated
mine water into a tributary of Dunkard Creek.
West Virginia DEP received a call Sunday reporting a pipeline
being used to pump mine water from an underground mine was leaking
into Dolls Run, said Kathy Cosco, West Virginia DEP public
information officer.
The company, Dana Mining, shut off the pumps Sunday as soon as it
learned of the leak and notified DEP, she said.
DEP inspectors Monday morning found about one-and-a-half miles of
Dolls Run stained a reddish orange from high levels of iron in the
mine water discharge, she said.
The stream is in West Virginia and enters Dunkard Creek just south
of the Mason-Dixon Park.
Some stain also was observed along one bank of Dunkard Creek,
within an area of about 30 yards below its confluence with Dolls
Run, Cosco said.
West Virginia DEP inspectors found no dead fish in Dolls Run and
were able to observe several live species in the creek, she said.
Field tests indicated the stream's pH level, a measurement of
acidity and alkalinity, also was within normal range, Cosco said.
Lab samples were taken, though results were not available Tuesday,
she said.
Cosco said it is not known how much mine water might have been
discharged into the creek. She also said she did not have
information regarding from which mine the water was being pumped.
Dana was issued a notice of violation for causing a "condition not
allowable" in Dolls Run. Cosco said she didn't know whether the
company would be fined because of the violation.
The company will be required, however, to give DEP 24 hours notice
before resuming its pumping operation, she said.
Dana operates several mines in West Virginia and in Greene County,
including the 4 West Mine in Dunkard Township, which provides coal
to the new Longview Power Plant. A company spokesman could not be
reached late Tuesday afternoon for comment.