21 Streams At Risk For Fish Kill Algae
7 Mon creeks on watch list
Morgantown Dominion Post
18 October 2009:
By David Beard
The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) fears 21
other state streams have conditions conducive for growth of the same
Dunkard Creek fishkill algae.
During an interim meeting last week, the Joint Legislative Oversight
Commission on State Water Resources also learned:
The golden algae toxins killed the fish and mussels, but no one yet
knows how the algae got there. Legislative action may be needed to
control the conditions that could lead to future outbreaks. The puzzle
has to be solved before fish can be returned to Dunkard Creek.
As investigators learned what makes the algae thrive, particularly the
total dissolved solids (organic and inorganic minerals, salts, metals
and other matter), Scott Mandirola of the West Virginia DEP said, they
began asking, “What other streams are potentially affected by this?”
They compiled a list of 21 waterways of about 10 miles or more in
length that had the right “conductivity,” a measure of the flow of
electric current that reflects TDS levels.
“Those streams are now identified as being potentially at risk if these
algae were allowed to spread,” he said.
Frank Jernejcic, District 1 fisheries biologist for the West Virginia
Division of Natural Resources (DNR) identified seven of them, besides
Dunkard, as being in this area — the Monongahela River drainage basin:
Buffalo Creek, Elk Creek, Bingamon Creek, Paw Paw Creek, Pyles Fork,
Indian Creek and Dents Run.
Jernejcic told the commission that the algae outbreak has eliminated
about 99 percent of the fish along the 30-mile stretch of Dunkard Creek
in West Virginia.
The kill destroyed 18 species of fish and 14 species of mussels — all
the mussels in the creek — he said.
He didn’t have information on the extent of the fish kill in the
Pennsylvania portion of the creek. The Pennsylvania DEP referred
questions to Eric Levis, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat
Commission, who did not return calls placed over the course of two days.
Investigators search for algae source
Mandirola told the legislators that the golden algae, known as
Prymnesium parvum, first appeared in Texas in 1985. It mainly kills
fish and, unlike red tide, isn’t harmful to humans.
Experts analyzed some of the dead fish, he said, and confirmed algae
toxins killed them — affecting the livers and gills most severely.
Investigators know the algae likes brackish water, and that Dunkard has
the conditions — the right acid levels and high total dissolved solids
(TDS), including sulfates and chlorides (salt) — that favor golden
algae growth.
But, Jernejcic said, “why it’s there, how it got there and what caused
it to reach the levels ... that would have caused the fish kill” is
still a mystery.
The golden algae is a symptom — they haven’t gotten to the cause.
“We believe with confidence that it’s golden algae toxins that are
killing the fish,” Mandirola said. “They like the environment that’s
there. We need to see what we can do about the environment.
“They’ve not come up with a clean, easy way to get rid of it,” he said.
“The best approach is to learn how to live with it and learn how to
control what it doesn’t like. If you can make the environment
unfavorable ... they won’t be able to produce the toxin, they won’t be
able to bloom and they won’t cause the problems.”
Helen Humphreys, spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania DEP, said her agency
is continuing to collect information so it can come to its own
conclusion about the cause.
“The algae needs a brackish, salty environment to thrive,” she said.
“Dunkard Creek is a freshwater stream, but high TDS levels have made it
salty. So, where is it coming from?”
Investigators said they think it may possibly be linked to mine
drainage, which is associated with high TDS levels, especially during
low flow times, when rainwater isn’t diluting the discharge.
Tests show high TDS levels in the Dunkard as far upstream as St. Leo,
near the mouth of the South Fork tributary, southwest of Wadestown near
the Marion County border. There is a mine drainage pool in this area,
and at a point above a beaver dam, above the drainage pond, the algae
cell count drops dramatically.
And other mine pools drain into the Dunkard in both states.
Legislation may be needed to get solids under
control
Getting TDS levels under control is part of the answer, and legislation
may be needed, several people said.
“How long are we going to keep going before we say, ‘Let’s draw a line
in the sand?’ ” Jernejcic said after the meeting.
Asked if it would require legislative action, he said, “I suspect.”
Dr. Duane Nichols, a water expert, retired WVU professor and member of
the Upper Monongahela River Association, gave his opinion to the
commission: “We have called for water quality standards. ... We need a
statewide standard for total dissolved solids.”
Delegate Tim Manchin, D-Marion and co-chairman of the commission, said
legislation may involve “a couple avenues.”
One could be adopting overall stream quality regulations regarding
factors related to chlorides (salt) and TDS. Pennsylvania already has
some TDS standards, he said.
Another could involve implementing some treatment measures for mine
drainage.
“How much discharge do you allow?” he asked.
Beyond that, he said, “At what point does this start having an impact
on our economic community?”
Right now, he said, commissioners are trying to bring themselves up to
speed so they’ll be ready if and when the DEP brings forth proposed
legislation.
Pennsylvania and West Virginia DEP officials have credited CONSOL
Energy with being cooperative during the investigation. Consol has
ceased discharges from mine pools along the creek while investigators
study the cause.
Humphreys said the Pennsylvania DEP believes discharge from the
Blacksville No. 1 and Blacksville No. 2 mines could have contributed to
the high TDS and chloride levels, according to a letter the department
sent to CONSOL dated Oct. 7.
In the letter, the Pennsylvania DEP requested information about the
various mine pools in the Dunkard Creek watershed and how they are
connected.
The Pennsylvania DEP also requested copies of all of CONSOL’s discharge
monitoring reports for the Blacksville No. 2 mine and copies of the
company’s permits and permit applications, among other things.
Humphreys said the Pennsylvania DEP would review the information from
CONSOL, once the company sent it.
The Pennsylvania DEP also sent a letter to the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency this month, asking the agency to revoke an
Underground Injection Control permit that allows CNX Gas Co. — a
subsidiary of CONSOL — to inject wastewater into the Morris Run
Borehole at the inactive Blacksville No. 1 mine.
The permit allows CONSOL to dispose of up to 150,000 barrels per month
of coal-bed methane wastewater, which contains up to 25,000 milligrams
per liter of TDS, according to the letter.
EPA spokesman David Sternberg said the agency is evaluating the letter
and is preparing a response to it.
Sternberg said he did not know when the response would be mailed.
CONSOL voluntarily stopped injecting the wastewater into the borehole
Oct. 2.