CONSOL, DNR Monitor Dunkard Creek Cleanup

The State Journal
29 December 2009
By Mike Krafcik

The Department of Environmental Protection is mandating short and long-term solutions to the Dunkard Creek cleanup.

The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources and CONSOL are collecting data to see how the clean up will begin at Dunkard Creek.

"We are required to provide data of water discharged from Blacksville No. 2 so that it meets their standards," said Joe Cerenzia of CONSOL..

The state Department of Environmental Protection has since limited chloride discharges into Dunkard Creek from CONSOL's Blacksville No. 2 mine through April 30. By early January, the company plans to resume discharging from the mine into the creek.

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection requires CONSOL to propose its final plan to treat water running from one of its mines into the waterway by April 30th.

"Everyone's going to wait until April to see what happens," said Frank Jernejcic, Division of Natural Resources Biologist.

CONSOL says they plan to include plans for building a water treatment plant before the April deadline.

The plans won't go in effect until 2013.