CONSOL Submits Discharge Plan
Fish kill, other topics will be discussed at Mon River Summit
Morgantown Dominion Post
18 April 2010
By Alex Lang
CONSOL submitted long-term plans to treat discharge from three mines
that dump waste water into Dunkard Creek.
The company e-mailed its proposal to the West Virginia
Department of Environmental Protection on Thursday, DEP spokeswoman
Kathy Cosco said, and the department received a hard copy Friday.
Thursday was the deadline to submit the plans.
The facility will use advanced metal removal, reverse
osmosis and thermal treatment on the raw mine water, according to the
proposal. The plant would treat mine water from Blacksville No. 2,
Loveridge and Robinson Run.
“The combination of [reverse osmosis], evaporation and
crystallization will successfully treat approximately 90 percent of the
water from the incoming flow,” according to the proposal.
The company must have the system in place and in
compliance by May 31, 2013. The plant is designed to last 20 years,
according to the proposal.
The DEP issued the order after they allowed CONSOL to
resume mine discharge into Dunkard Creek. CONSOL voluntarily stopped
the practice after most marine life was wiped out in September 2009.
The mine discharge has been the focus of the investigation
into elevated levels of Total Dissolved Solids. The increased levels
led to an algae bloom that released a toxin, which killed fish and
other marine life.
Cosco said the department is reviewing the proposal to
ensure it meets their regulations.
The plan for the treatment facility comes a few days
before Monday’s Mon River Summit. The event was organized by the Upper
Monongahela River Association. This is the fifth annual summit.
“There is something for every interest group,” said Barry
Pallay, vice president for the organization.
The summit is open to the public, but there is a $30 fee.
During lunch, state DEP Secretary Randy Huffman will give a speech.
Other events include a panel discussion on the Dunkard Creek fish kill,
water-quality discussion and conversations about commerce opportunities
along the Monongahela River.
Pallay said the summit will focus on the current state of
the watershed and look ahead to the future of the area.
Frank Jernejcic, District 1 fisheries biologist for the
West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, said he will provide an
update on the Dunkard Creek situation.
It is important to get the groups together because
everybody has an interest in the waterway, Jernejcic said. The issue
affects everyone — from those who drink the water to those who use it
for business, he said.
“It’s going to cost all of us something,” Jernejcic said.
There have been two wakeup calls with issues regarding the
watershed, Pallay said — problems with water quality in 2008 and the
Dunkard Creek fish kill.
If the interest groups don’t take care of the watershed,
Pallay said the groups will be solving problems instead of preventing
them.
“We all need to work together,” Pallay said. “Otherwise we
are going to see more disasters.”