Dunkard Creek Kill Frustrates Residents of Greene County

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
5 December 2009
By Don Hopey

MOUNT MORRIS, Pa. -- Just a stone's throw from Dunkard Creek, the frustration of local residents is more palpable than the toxic golden algae that state and federal agencies say decimated fish, mussels and aquatic life throughout 43 miles of that flow in September.

As the fatal fall algae bloom has faded, many along this creek that meanders along the Pennsylvania-West Virginia border say they are disappointed about the slow pace of investigations and angry that no one has been held accountable.

"All we're asking for is an honest investigation," said Jim O'Connell, a member of the local conservation group, Friends of Dunkard Creek, at an informational meeting that attracted more than 200 people Thursday evening in the Mount Morris Gospel Tabernacle Church.

"We are concerned that the emphasis on golden algae, which may be one cause, is nonetheless a smokescreen for the real cause, high total dissolved solids in the creek. We want Dunkard Creek restored by the people who killed it."


John Yesenosky, East Dunkard Water Association president, attends the public meeting in Mount Morris, Greene County, to talk about the fish kill in Dunkard Creek. John Heller/Post-Gazette

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission has asked the Pennsylvania attorney general to conduct a criminal investigation into the cause of the fish kill. Eric Shirk, a spokesman for the attorney general, said the office is "looking into it," but declined yesterday to provide details.



Tom Crist of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission  John Heller/Post-Gazette

A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency interim report released earlier this week and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection say discharges high in total dissolved solids came from mine drainage treatment facilities along the creek and created the kind of brackish water conditions in which the toxic algae thrives.

But none of those investigations has yet determined how the algae got there or who is to blame for creating the stream conditions that allowed it to bloom into a fatal force that caused big bass and muskies to start going belly-up three months ago.

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection estimates that between 15,000 and 22,000 fish -- many of them large game fish -- died because of the toxins released by the algae. Also killed were large salamanders or "mudpuppies," and 14 species of freshwater mussels, some of them already ecologically threatened.

The Greene County Conservation District, which sponsored Thursday's meeting along with the Upper Mon River Association, has estimated the cost of restoring the creek at $30 million.



Betty Wiley, president of the Dunkard Creek Watershed Association, comments on the the public meeting addressing the fish kill in Dunkard Creek.  John Heller/Post-Gazette

Consol Energy, which discharges mine water high in TDS from its Blacksville No. 2 mine and Loverage mine, has said other factors could have produced the algae bloom that killed the fish.

"No one is 100 percent sure what caused the algae bloom. There's a lot of other loading and factors on the creek," said Joe Cerenzia, a Consol Energy spokesman.

Under an agreement with the West Virginia DEP, Consol must figure out a way to reduce the TDS in its discharges by the end of 2013. Mr. Cerenzia said the company hasn't decided how it will do that.

Angela McFadden, a member of the EPA's month-old regional resource extraction task force, said the EPA is reviewing Consol's agreement with West Virginia to determine if a fix can be done sooner. She noted that Consol took just two years to build a new treatment facility at one of its mines in West Virginia.

Another complication for the creek that is adding to the local frustration is Consol's request to resume mine water discharges from its Blacksville No. 2 mine that were stopped after the fish kill was discovered. The company has said the mine has been filling up and could soon become unsafe for mining.

"We're very concerned about the situation in the mine, and we'll have to start pumping soon," Mr. Cerenzia said.

But Raymond Yackel, whose family owns a farm along the creek in Pennsylvania, said Consol shouldn't be allowed to pollute the creek again. He said Consol should be made to pump the mine water into tankers and truck it to treatment plants.

"We live in the community -- I've been here for 31 years -- and we're heartbroken about what happened to our creek," Mr. Yackel said. "I went down to the creek in mid-September to see all the dead fish and I drove away crying.

"Now I'm frustrated. No one is standing up to the people in industries," he said. "It's simple economics. We're ruining the environment because someone wants to take a shortcut."

Don Hopey can be reached at dhopey@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1983.