Morgantown Dunkard Creek’s Demise Still Needs Clarification
Letter to the Editor
Morgantown Dominion Post
27 September 2009
The Dominion Post should be commended for providing coverage of the
recent biological disaster that has occurred in Dunkard Creek. Some 131
species of aquatic organisms comprising a unique aquatic ecosystem that
was enjoyed by
generations of anglers and nature enthusiasts has been wiped out. Many
of the species of fish, mussels and amphibians take years to establish
and grow, so it will be
decades before this stream resembles anything “natural” again.
I am disturbed by the lack of clarity by the West Virginia Department
of Environmental Protection in reporting on this situation. Statements
by the DEP recently published imply that the cause of the disaster was
pollutants
originating from coal mining or from an algal bloom. This is clearly
not the case. Total dissolved solids and chloride levels reported by
the Pennsylvania DEP from creek samples
are at highly toxic levels, thousands of times higher than normal and
saltier than the ocean.
These toxins are not produced by coal mining, nor are they produced by
algae; TDS and chlorides are classic toxins associated with the
drilling of natural gas. While it remains to be identified whether
haulers have been illegally dumping
waste brine from drilling operations or if the toxins originated from
the “injection site” operated by an energy company at the former
Blacksville mine, the evidence
strongly points to gas drilling.
The fact that the West Virginia DEP has not clarified this makes me
wonder whether this agency can be trusted at all to provide
scientifically sound information.
Natural gas is attractive in many ways as a source of energy. Its
combustion produces virtually no toxic materials and carbon emissions
are lower than most other energy sources. However, if the gas industry,
the DEP and EPA cannot
produce natural gas in an environmentally sound way, then drilling
should be suspended.
Similarly, dumping of toxic material at the energy company’s injection
site should be suspended until it can be shown that it can safely
operate.
The natural gas industry spent millions of dollars this year lobbying
Congress against the “frac bill,” which would have introduced
additional oversight of environmental contamination associated with gas
drilling. Just think how different
things might have been if the gas industry acted as responsible
citizens and spent this money monitoring where their toxins were being
dumped — Dunkard Creek could
have been saved from destruction.
Andrew Liebhold
Mount Morris, Pa.