Don't these people ever communicate?


Washington, PA Observer-Reporter
5 October 2009

Many people were surprised to learn from recent articles on the Dunkard Creek fish kill in Greene County that CNX Gas Co. was operating a coal bed methane brine disposal well at the Morris Run shaft of Consol Energy's closed Blacksville No. 1 Mine.

The Class IID injection well was permitted in 2005 by the federal Environmental Protection Agency as a site for CNX to dispose of brine generated by the company's coal bed methane gas wells.

At a recent meeting of the Greene County Conservation District, Robbie Matesic, director of the county Department of Economic Development, made a point of the fact the county has not been kept abreast by state and federal regulators of activities that could affect water quality in the watershed.

The county could find no evidence it had received any notice from EPA that it was issuing a permit for the disposal well, she said.

It also was not made aware of a recent order issued by EPA alleging the company violated its permit by failing to staff or secure the site or ensuring accurate logs were kept of what was being dumped into the mine shaft.

There's no evidence the well has anything to do with the fish kill, one of the worst in this area in many years, but county officials believe they should have known about its existence because of the potential hazard it represents.

Along the same lines, county officials believe they also should have been notified about the specifics of an existing pollution source in Dunkard Creek also brought to light as a result of the investigation into the fish kill.

That involves Consol's Blacksville No. 2 Mine and the fact West Virginia's Department of Environmental Protection has for several years allowed the company to exceed federal water quality standards for chloride levels in its discharge from the mine.

High levels of chloride in the creek are being considered as a contributing factor in what investigators now believe caused the fish kill, an algae bloom.

The county believes it should have been informed of both these activities by the appropriate agencies.

The county and the conservation district have spent much time and effort attempting to address issues involving water quality in Dunkard Creek. This has included directing money for sewage treatment, preparing plans to manage storm water discharges and working to develop a plan to treat several acid mine discharges from abandoned mines along the lower portion of the creek.

In recent years, acid mine drainage has garnered great attention because of the damage it can do to our supply of drinking water. At the same time, we've experienced a boom in gas well drilling that carries its own hazards. You would think that all agencies trusted with guarding the environment would be on their toes and in communication.

For the county and district to spend time and money trying to remedy these problems only to learn other government agencies that we assume share its goals are not sharing what is obviously relevant information, amounts to "a slap in the face," said Martin Niverth, also of the county development department.

We tend to agree.