Agencies Investigate Large Fish Kill
Washington, PA Observer-Reporter
16 September 2009
By Bob Niedbala, Staff writer
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 an 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."