DNR Says No Golden Algae Found in Pond
CONSOL previously said Dunkard threatened
Morgantown Dominion Post
8 July 2011
By Alex Lang
The algae found a few weeks ago in a pond near the West
Virginia-Pennsylvania border is not golden algae, an algae that led to
a massive fish kill in Dunkard Creek in 2009.
Frank Jernejcic, District 1 fisheries biologist for the
Division of Natural Resources, revealed the news during Thursday’s
Monongahela River Recreation and Commerce Committee meeting.
“It was a real big scare, but everybody responded very
quickly,” Jernejcic said.
In June, CONSOL reported to the West Virginia and
Pennsylvania departments of environmental protection that it found
golden algae in a privately owned pond just north of the state line.
The pond’s overflow runs into Dunakrd Creek.
West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
spokeswoman Kathy Cosco said it appears the scare was a false alarm.
West Virginia and Pennsylvania samples did not confirm the presence of
the golden algae.
She said a final resolution has not been issued because
those involved want to understand why there was disagreement in the
first place.
Cosco said the DEP always proceeds with caution and that
is why it resampled the pond. She added that proper identification of
the species of algae with microscopes can be challenging.
There have been no changes in DEP procedures as a result
of the scare, Cosco said. The department will continue to use DNA-based
methods, which helped lead to the determination that the algae found
was misidentified.
CONSOL has monitored the Dunkard area after elevated
levels of total dissolved solids caused an algae bloom that
released a toxin killing most of the aquatic life in Dunkard Creek.
Mine discharge from Blacksville No. 2 was the focus of that
investigation.
Earlier this year, CONSOL reached a multi-million
settlement with several government organizations for its alleged
violations of the Clean Water Act, regarding discharges into the Mon
and Ohio watershed.
The Dunkard Creek fish kill and the algae scare were
discussed during the commerce committee’s meeting. The meeting was
sponsored by the Upper Monongahela River Association and the Morgantown
Area Chamber of Commerce.
The roughly 20 people in attendance passed a resolution
thanking CONSOL for their prompt response to the algae scare.
The group also discussed trash along the riverbank and the
economic impact of the river.
Monongalia County litter control officer Anthony Giambrone
said a lot of the debris travels down the river from other places and
ends up on M o r g a n - town’s banks.
Jernejcic said he spent time on the local rivers and said
the worst offender is the West Fork River. He said trash can be seen up
and down that river’s bank. The West Fork feeds into the Mon River.
Giambrone said he is willing to help get the word to the
other counties’ solid waste authorities so they can inform people
living along the riverbanks that trash that gets swept away becomes a
problem for other communities.
Sports manager for the Greater Morgantown Visitors and
Convention Bureau Dave Plevich highlighted some of the recent events in
the area that have used the river, including the Cabela’s King Kat
fishing tournament.
“There is a great asset we have in Morgantown, and it is
the river,” Plevich said.