CONSOL Slurry Spills into Enlow Tributary
Washington PA Observer-Reporter
10 April 2010
By Bob Niedbala, Staff writer
niedbala@observer-reporter.com
The state Department of Environmental Protection is investigating a
spill of mine slurry refuse into a tributary of Enlow Fork in Richhill
Township.
The spill occurred about 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at a slurry impoundment
for Consol Energy Inc.'s Bailey Mine Central Preparation Plant near
Enon.
Consol notified DEP as soon as it became aware of the spill, company
spokesman Joe Cerenzia said. "We have a crew out there cleaning it up
and the situation is under control," he said.
DEP spokeswoman Helen Humphreys said the company had been doing
excavation work at a settling pond and a pipe was damaged that led to
an overflow from the pond into Talley Run, a tributary to Enlow Fork.
The agency's emergency response staff had been called to the scene. The
spill affected about 2 miles of the tributary and had entered Enlow
Fork, which is stocked with trout by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat
Commission, she said.
DEP issued an order Thursday requiring the company to clean up the
spill. The agency has not yet determined the extent of the damage or
the effects of the spill on aquatic life, Humphreys said.
Several people contacted the Observer-Reporter and said the spill had
turned the tributary black. Humphreys, too, added it was difficult to
determine the effects on aquatic life in the tributary because the
black material obscured a view of the stream bottom.
Humphreys said the Fish and Boat Commission also has been called to
investigate the spill. A spokesman for the commission could not be
reached Friday afternoon for comment.