Time is Now to Spare White Day Creek
Morgantown Dominion Post
20 June 2010
Letter to the Editor
Are there any fans of White Day Creek out there?
It has been a great place to trout fish, swim, relax, ride horses, etc.
for many years. It has remained a “green zone” as a result of major
public support any time it was threatened by coal mines, power lines,
and the like.
Recently, it has come to my attention that there are several “frac
wells” coming to the White Day area. If you are not familiar with
these, I urge you to check the Internet, or just ask around.
The drillers plan to draw water from the creek this summer (possibly
millions of gallons) when it is at low water levels, anyway. Look up
Dunkard Creek on the Internet if you want to see what happens as a
result of this practice.
After using the water, the waste, or “frac fluid,” is contaminated with
lead, mercury, arsenic, radon gas and sometimes diesel fuel. This waste
is exempt from any dumping regulations. They can literally dump it
anywhere, and a large portion of it remains in the ground anyway.
Wells and White Day Creek itself are in danger of becoming unusable.
Fairmont can not even dispose of rain runoff without treating it first.
How strange is that?
New York and Pennsylvania are already regulating these wells so there
is a big rush to drill as many holes in West Virginia as quickly as
possible. It is time for that public support [of White Day Creek]
again. We need the gas, money, jobs, etc., but I hate to have nothing
but a toxic waste dump when the big corporations are done with us.
Write to your legislators, call them and do it now. Dunkard Creek is
dead, White Day is next, and it’s not going to stop unless we stop it.
Let’s have some responsible development for a change. And let’s keep at
least one live trout stream for our children to enjoy.
Mark Moran
White Day Creek Watershed Association
Fairmont