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<action item> Coal ash dumps are huge and toxic
by duane330＠aol.com 28 Jan '10

28 Jan '10

We have waited far too long for comprehensive protections against the toxic coal ash threat. Please take a moment to stand up for public health! Take action today! Dear colleague, People living near coal ash dump sites often tell similar stories of illness, poisoned drinking water supplies and environmental destruction. For decades, these massive toxic dumps, sometimes millions of gallons deep and hundreds of acres wide, have been unregulated, unmonitored and ignored. But on Dec. 22, 2008, everything changed. That night, more than 1 billion gallons of toxic coal ash burst through a dam and flooded 300 acres in rural Tennessee. Dozens of homes were damaged or destroyed, and the Environmental Protection Agency vowed to act. Citizens just like you sent letters and made phone calls to the EPA, pleading for swift action to guarantee the safety and environment for millions of Americans living near these dangerous sites. But, one year later, we still wait for federal oversight. The EPA has a plan to regulate coal ash as hazardous waste, but well-funded lobbyists for the coal and power industries are blocking EPA's attempt to protect public health and the environment. They are meeting with White House officials, spreading false information about coal ash and obscuring the need for strong federal oversight. Please take a moment to stand up for public health by calling, faxing or emailing the White House to tell them that coal ash must be immediately regulated as hazardous waste: http://action.earthjustice.org/campaign/coalash_0110/7unw7g407j37ddm?#start… America has waited far too long for comprehensive protections against this toxic coal ash threat. Industry should not be allowed to flex its lobbyist muscle and stand in the way of better health and a cleaner environment. — Earthjustice

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Over 21 streams statewide under threat
by duane330＠aol.com 22 Jan '10

22 Jan '10

House bill to protect waterways: Legislators want to prevent fish kills Another fish-kill disaster like Dunkard Creek is on the horizon, and new laws are needed to protect state waterways. One of those efforts is House Bill 4001, created and co-sponsored by local delegates, and the first House bill introduced during the 2010 session. Delegate Barbara Evans Fleischauer, D-Monongalia, is the primary sponsor of HB 4001. She and others noted that there are some obstacles to getting a bill passed. Not everyone in the Legislature understands the extent of the kill, or that the expansion of golden algae makes it a statewide issue. HB 4001 would amend the existing Water Pollution Control Act to enable the DEP to develop standards to control levels of total dissolved solids (TDS) in state waterways. It would require mining, gas drilling and other industries to conform with those standards for discharges into waterways. The DEP and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have said the Dunkard fish kill was caused by a bloom of golden algae -- P. parvum, a plant that thrives in salty water and produces a toxin that can kill fish, mussels and salamanders. Chloride, a component of salt, is also an element of TDS. You can have most influence by contacting the Office of the Governor, 1900 Kanawha Blvd. East, Charleston, WV 25305. You can email the Governor at _Governor(a)wvgov.org_ (mailto:Governor@wvgov.org) See also: E _http://www.wvgov.org_ (http://www.wvgov.org/)

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Keith Pitzer's progress will live on
by Duane330＠aol.com 23 Dec '09

23 Dec '09

Friends of the Cheat mourns the passing of Keith Pitzer Keith Pitzer, executive director of Friends of the Cheat since 2001, died on the morning of December 22nd following a year and a half long battle with cancer. Under his leadership, Friends of the Cheat dramatically expanded its efforts to restore, preserve, and promote the outstanding natural qualities of the Cheat River Watershed. Key milestones under the Pitzer tenure include establishing three public river accesses, completing an interpretive driving trail, invasive species eradication, and a major expansion of the organization's primary focus, cleaning up acid mine drainage that has rendered many miles of streams in the watershed unable to support life for decades. Today the Cheat River, once considered dead below Albright, is making a comeback. The water is visibly cleaner, and fish, eagles, herons, and otters have been sighted, although much work remains to further improve water quality in the river and tributaries. Keith also laid the foundation for ongoing projects including developing rail trails in the Kingwood area and from Albright to Rowlesburg, building an outdoor classroom, developing a key river and trail access at the confluence of Pringle Run and the Cheat River, and many additional acid mine drainage remediation projects throughout the lower Cheat watershed. Despite his deteriorating health, Keith remained actively involved in leading Friends of the Cheat through mid-November of this year. On December 1st, co-founder and past president and executive director Dave Bassage was named interim director to keep the organization and small staff moving smoothly forward. Bassage notes: "Keith was a close friend for twenty years, and I will sorely miss him, but savor many fond memories. He was a kind, committed, gentle man, with a talent for music and leadership, putting all who knew him at ease. The world deserved more of Keith than he was able to give. His dreams, his passions, and most of all the patience, persistence, and respect he embodied so well will continue on in those of us fortunate enough to have been touched by him." An accomplished musician and songwriter, Keith and his wife Joan recorded albums and played at festivals and other venues throughout the East Coast. They were instrumental in establishing fine music tradition of the annual Cheat River Festival, the region's first outdoor festival each year, held the first weekend in May. In lieu of flowers, The Keith Pitzer family has asked that donations be made in his memory to Friends of the Cheat, website www.cheat.org. Condolence notes can be sent to his email: _KPitzer(a)cheat.org_ (mailto:KPitzer@cheat.org) , and will be passed along to his family. A memorial service is being planned for the springtime. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> See also the front page of today's Morgantown Dominion Post.

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The Dunkard story from WV-DEP
by duane330＠aol.com 09 Dec '09

09 Dec '09

Dunkard Creek Residents Blame Agencies for September Fish Kill Posted Friday, December 4, 2009 ; 01:21 PM, Updated Friday, December 4, 2009; 05:00 PM Patrick Campbell, assistant director of WVDEP’s Division of Water and Waste Management Photo Credit: Pam Kasey Officials conducted a meeting Dec. 3 in Pennsylvania. Story by Pam Kasey Story by Pam Kasey MOUNT MORRIS, Pa. -- West Virginia and Pennsylvania residents of the Dunkard Creek watershed took environmental officials to task at a Dec. 3 community meeting about the death this fall of the creek’s fish and mussels. The kill on Dunkard Creek, an active smallmouth bass and musky fishery and the most diverse breeding ground for mussels in the Monongahela River drainage, first was reported to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection on Sept. 1. By the end of September, as many as 22,000 fish and all of the mussels were dead on about 30 miles of the West Virginia Fork and the mainstem of the creek, according to a preliminary estimate from the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. A bloom of golden algae, Prymnesium parvum, unknown in this region before September, has been identified as the secondary cause of the kill. The primary cause, agency investigators and university researchers generally agree, was saline conditions from natural resource extraction. Coal and coalbed methane operations in the watershed produce water high in salts, known in water quality lingo as Total Dissolved Solids. Because producers move their salty waste water from one location to another in the watershed for partial treatment and for disposal, it has been difficult to pinpoint the exact cause. Resident Frustration Participants in the Dec. 3 meeting identified lax environmental enforcement as the cause. Some questioned why the federal Environmental Protection Agency permitted CNX Gas to inject brine into a mine void that may be connected hydrologically with other abandoned mines. Others pointed to WVDEP’s consent order allowing CONSOL Energy to discharge water high in chlorides through Sept. 2013. Chlorides are one component of TDS, and removing them is expensive. “Is it safe to say that that was a mistake, and wouldn’t you say that that decision actually sealed the fate of Dunkard Creek?” a meeting participant asked Patrick Campbell, assistant director of WVDEP’s Division of Water and Waste Management. DEP decided to overlook the fact that the creek’s streambed organisms were suffering under the high-chloride discharge, Campbell said, because the fishery seemed to be surviving. “The golden algae was the kicker,” he said. “If treatment had been installed a long time ago, this may not have happened, but the agency was trying to let the situation play out with the opportunities that were available to the company. … Nobody ever could have imagined what could have happened.” More Blooms Likely Without Protection Golden algae typically are found in naturally salty coastal and southern waters. Dunkard Creek was the first place they were identified in the Mid-Atlantic region. The algae are not always deadly. But when they outgrow their food supply, they secrete toxins that kill gill-breathing organisms. Once present in a watershed, the algae are difficult if not impossible to eradicate, biologists say. At the same time, they may easily be spread to other locations by wildlife, recreationists, industrial users and others. And since September, WVDEP has found golden algae in five other especially salty streams across the state: three in the Monongahela River basin, one in the northern panhandle and one near Charleston. “It’s a huge threat,” said Margaret Janes of the Appalachian Center for the Economy and the Environment, who is following the issue closely, “both because it can kill everything in the stream and because it’s likely to recur over years and years and likely to expand throughout central Appalachia.” A bill that failed in the state Legislature last March would have required the state DEP to establish a water quality standard for TDS at or below Pennsylvania’s standard of 500 milligrams/liter — a level surpassed many times over during the fish kill. Legislators are considering reintroducing the bill but making it specific to the Monongahela River watershed. Janes would like to see it passed for the entire state. “I don’t think legislators can cherry-pick which streams they’re going to protect,” she said. Next Step for Dunkard? Meanwhile, the situation on Dunkard Creek is reaching a critical point. CONSOL discontinued pumping salty water from its active Blacksville #2 mine on Sept. 17, during the fish kill. Three months later, the mine is filling up. “We’ve got 500 people underground,” said Jonathan Pachter of CONSOL. “We need to keep the mine safe. At some point in time soon we’re going to have to figure out what to do.” DEP still is considering waiting for Sept. 2013 for a long-term strategy, according to Campbell, and is making no requirement of CONSOL in the short-term. “I think the company is evaluating lots of options: Can they move the water somewhere else, augment flow — how can they take steps themselves to reduce TDS?” he said. Asked whether WVDEP has the authority to rescind the consent decree and require CONSOL to treat its discharge to the state’s existing water quality standard for chlorides, Campbell indicated that he considered that futile. “The authority would be there. The ability to appeal that decision is also there,” he said. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> See also: www.wvdep.org, and under "offices" choose, Division of Water and Waste Management.

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Open Letter to WV-DEP
by Duane330＠aol.com 08 Dec '09

08 Dec '09

CHEAT LAKE ENVIRONMENT & RECREATION ASSOCIATION Open Letter To WV-DEP WV Department of Environmental Protection Charleston, West Virginia RE: Dunkard Creek and the Monongahela River. Date: December 8, 2009 The West Virginia Joint Legislative Oversight Commission on State Water Resources met on Thursday, October 15 to examine the fish kill in Dunkard Creek. The meeting took place at the State Capitol, and was open to the public. Presentations were made by Scott Mandirola, WV-DEP, Frank Jernejcic, WV-DNR. and this writer (Duane Nichols) on behalf of the Upper Monongahela River Association (UMRA). The Upper Mon River Association has conducted 12 monthly Water Quality Forums at the Morgantown Airport in Monongalia County since November of 2008. The primary impetus was originally the high TDS and low flows in the Monongahela River most noticeable in August of 2008. Since that time, problems of high TDS have continued in the Mon River and in a number of its tributaries. WV and Pennsylvania state and federal representatives have participated in these Forums on a regular basis. Strong sentiment has been expressed over the problems of TDS and other ions in the streams of our State. On November 12th, a joint meeting involving the WV Sierra Club and the Dunkard Creek Watershed Association was held at West Virginia University. Over 60 people attended who support limits on TDS in the local streams, the regulation of water withdraws for whatever purpose, and the strict enforcement of water quality and stream maintenance regulations. On December 3rd, the Water Quality Forum at Mt. Morris in Pennsylvania involved over 200 people meeting specifically on Dunkard Creek. Here it was clearly revealed that urgent action is needed to protect this and the other streams of the region, to limit water withdraws, and to enforce the state and federal regulation of all these streams. The lack of adequate legal protection, the lack of adequate enforcement of existing regulations, and the lack of adequate plans for the immediate future were quite evident. It was shocking to learn that the WV-DEP has no plans for any action as a result of this huge kill of aquatic life. The need now exists to establish water quality standards for all the streams of WV, given that the recent fish kill on Dunkard Creek was so devastating. This was initially a crisis situation that became a disaster. Approximately 22,000 fish, plus 14 species of mussels, and other creatures are dead and no one knows how to regenerate the stream. The conditions on Dunkard Creek could be repeated on more than 20 other streams throughout West Virginia. A water quality standard of 500 parts per million, for example, would meet national drinking water standards, and this may be sufficiently low as to remove threats of a golden algae bloom, according to the information currently available. Some of us believe that 250 ppm would be more realistic, to provide adequate protection for aquatic life and for household uses of the water year round. The WV-DEP web-site has been inadequate as a response to the problems of high TDS and the golden algae. Most of the postings that have been provided were undated, so the public could not readily determine the significance of a given posting. Also, not much of the actual data has been posted; some data has been posted but it has not been easy to find and has always been late in appearing. Further, WV-DEP has been meeting with representatives of the polluters on a regular basis, but has not once called in members of the public who are directly affected or members of the environmental groups who know about and care about these problems. Thus, there is a big question as to “who” the WV-DEP is really serving in this and other issues before the State. The importance of the Monongahela River cannot be overemphasized, given its substantial role for public water supplies, industrial water supplies and recreational activities. The high TDS values experienced by the Morgantown Utility Board during the past two summers results in problems for each household with foul taste, hard water for washing activities, and the clogging of values and pipes. The problems of TDS in the cooling water of the numerous power plants results in violations of air emission permits for cooling towers as well as the accumulation of salt solids within evaporative cooling towers. It is now time, now finally is the time to do something. Something must be done about these problems. The WV-DEP has been studying these problem long enough. On behalf of the citizens of West Virginia, on behalf of all the water users of our State, I call upon the WV-DEP to immediately develop a slate of solutions to the problems at hand, rank these options and publish them. Then, the public, the Legislature and the Governor can work to adopt a set of solutions that will represent our best effort to recover from these problems in our rivers and other streams. Sincerely submitted, Duane G. Nichols Duane G. Nichols, Ph.D. Chemical Engineer President, Cheat Lake Environment & Recreation Association 330 Dream Catcher Circle Morgantown, WV 26508

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Fwd: New article: Dunkard Creek
by Duane330＠aol.com 13 Nov '09

13 Nov '09

For your information, the recent article in Envrionmental Science & Technology................ comprehensive description of the issues on Dunkard Creek...................Duane

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Dunkard Creek & Monongahela River
by Duane330＠aol.com 17 Oct '09

17 Oct '09

Fish kill prompts Pa. to seek brine well shutdown The Associated Press, Friday, October 16, 2009, Philadelphia Inquirer HARRISBURG, Pa. - The federal government is considering a request to shut down an underground coalbed-methane wastewater storage operation that Pennsylvania officials suspect contributed to a massive fish kill. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency spokesman David Sternberg said Friday that his agency is preparing a response to the Oct. 5 request from Pennsylvania's environmental regulators. Environmental officials in Pennsylvania and West Virginia are pursuing the cause behind the death of fish, mussels, salamanders and other aquatic life in Dunkard Creek. The 38-mile creek meanders along the states' border. A 2005 EPA permit allows a Consol Energy subsidiary to inject the brine into underground caverns. The water is left over from methane drilling on a closed coal mine. A company spokesman says it doesn't believe the brine is the source of the fish kill. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Levels of total dissolved solids spike in Monongahela Thursday, October 15, 2009, By Don Hopey, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette _http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09288/1005633-113.stm_ (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09288/1005633-113.stm) For the third time in the past 12 months, dissolved contaminants in the Monongahela River have spiked well above federal and state water quality standards for taste and odor, and the situation is expected to get worse. The state Department of Environmental Protection announced yesterday that high levels of total dissolved solids, or TDS, in the river began showing up two weeks ago near the town of Crucible in Greene County. Since then, additional violations of the 500 parts per million TDS standard have been recorded in 46 miles of the river to Elizabeth in Allegheny County, where levels peaked on Saturday at about 600 parts per million. "This is the second time we've noted high TDS levels this fall and that's telling us that this is a problem," said DEP spokeswoman Helen Humphreys. "We'll be continuing to monitor the situation, but there's no reason to think that levels will not go higher again. There's no question we have a challenge before us." Last fall TDS levels exceeded water quality standards in more than 90 miles of the river and peaked at more than 900 parts per million. The Monongahela River is the water supply for 350,000 people and the 11 public water treatment facilities that draw water from the river are not equipped to remove TDS, which is a measure of all elements dissolved in water, including carbonates, chlorides, sulfates, nitrates, sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium. For most, high TDS levels will make the water smell and taste bad and spot dishes and glasses but do not make an affected water source unsafe to drink. But individuals allergic to sulfates can be sickened, and the DEP has once again advised concerned residents to use bottled water for drinking and cooking until river flows increase and TDS levels return to normal. Sources of TDS include sewage treatment plants, drainage from abandoned and active mines, power plant scrubber and coolant water discharges and wastewater from oil and gas well drilling operations. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Drilling water may be cause of fish kill -- DEP points to salty discharge from mine Wednesday, October 14, 2009, By Don Hopey, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette _http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09287/1005306-113.stm_ (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09287/1005306-113.stm) A heretofore undisclosed underground flow of mine pool and methane gas well drilling water into Consol Energy's Blacksville No. 2 Mine may have contributed to the salty, polluted discharges that caused the massive, month-long fish kill on Dunkard Creek. But Consol said that's not so, and its investigation, along with those of federal and state environmental agencies into the now six-week-old ecological disaster, is continuing. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection said its stream sampling shows discharges high in dissolved solids and chlorides from the Blacksville No. 2 Mine are the "primary immediate source" of the fish kill that last month wiped out aquatic life on 35 miles of Dunkard Creek along the Pennsylvania-West Virginia border. The DEP also said in a letter to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, dated Oct. 2, that it has obtained information that water from the inactive Blacksville No. 1 Mine in the Pittsburgh coal seam is flowing into the active Blacksville No. 2 mine pool. "Our data shows it's the discharge from Blacksville No. 2, but we have a lot of questions about where all that water originated and we're asking those questions," said Helen Humphreys, a DEP spokeswoman. In a letter to Consol dated Oct. 7 but made public yesterday, the DEP asked the company to provide information on any underground connections and water flows or pumping between its active Blacksville No. 2 Mine in West Virginia and its inactive Blacksville No. 1 Mine in Greene County, Pennsylvania. It also requested that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency revoke the federal deep well injection permit that allows Consol to dispose of coalbed methane drilling waste water in the inactive mine through the Morris Run Borehole. The EPA ordered Consol to stop injections at the end of September but has taken no action on the permit. Consol has repeatedly said that the water in the inactive Blacksville No. 1 mine is not flowing or being pumped into the active Blacksville No. 2 mine. Yesterday Consol spokesman Tom Hoffman said the company's chemical analysis of water from the active mine shows its chloride level is the same as it was before it began using the borehole. That shows, Mr. Hoffman said, that either there is no infiltration of water into Blacksville No. 2 or the chloride levels of the water in the two mines are nearly the same. "We've been discharging from (Blacksville No. 2) for more than a year at essentially the same levels," Mr. Hoffman said. "No one on our side is prepared to say that the fish kill is related to the discharge. And I don't think it's fair to say the Blacksville No. 2 discharge is the primary factor." Mr. Hoffman said "multiple environmental factors were involved," including toxins released by a non-indigenous golden algae. The Pennsylvania DEP said that algae -- which may have "hitchhiked" to the Mason-Dixon Line on drilling rigs brought up from Texas to work in the Marcellus shale gas fields in Pennsylvania and West Virginia -- was able to flourish in a brackish Dunkard Creek because of the high levels of dissolved solids and chlorides discharged into the stream by Consol's treatment facility. "We don't agree and don't think the West Virginia DEP agrees," said Mr. Hoffman. Fish, freshwater mussels, salamanders and aquatic insects started dying on Sept. 1, and continued dying throughout the month. According to the Pennsylvania DEP, the pollution also threatened water quality in the Monongahela River, which is a source of drinking water for 850,000 people in southwestern Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania DEP asked the West Virginia DEP, in its Oct. 2 letter, to "take necessary enforcement measures" to control pollution discharges of total dissolved solids, chlorides and sulfides from the Blacksville No. 2 mine treatment facility. That Consol treatment facility, which does not remove dissolved solids or salts, stopped treating and pumping mine water into the creek as the fish kill progressed last month. But Pennsylvania DEP wants assurances that the previous pollution loads will not be discharged into the creek again when it becomes necessary for Consol to resume pumping and treating water from its active mine. "We have also observed that the levels of chlorides being discharged from ... the Blacksville No. 2 Mine are unusually high for a discharge solely from a deep mine," the Pennsylvania DEP said in that Oct. 2 letter. The West Virginia coal seam being mined by Consol has an unusually high chloride content. The West Virginia DEP approved orders in 2004, 2007 and 2008 allowing the company's treatment facilities to discharge unlimited amounts of chloride into the creek until 2013. The EPA, which said two weeks ago it didn't know about those agreements, is reviewing them because they appear to illegally suspend federal water quality standards. "The department has been clear all along: This has been a tragic event," Ms. Humphreys said. "And we are going to take the necessary steps to methodically collect all information so that when we determine the responsible party we can take appropriate enforcement action." >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> *Release Date: 10/13/2009, Contact: Delegate Barabara Fleischauer ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *_Legislature to Investigate Dunkard Creek Fish Kill_* MORGANTOWN, W.Va—The Joint Legislative Oversight Commission on State Water Resources will meet on Thursday, Oct. 15 to examine the 30-mile fish kill in Dunkard Creek. The meeting will take place at the State Capitol from 9-11 a.m. in Room 208-W, the Senate Judiciary Committee Room. It is open to the public. “The frustrating thing is that folks in the Upper Monongahela River Association predicted that something like this would happen last year. Although our local delegates introduced a bill last session, HB 2960, intended to remedy what happened, sometimes it takes a disaster to get legislation passed,” said Delegate Barbara Evans Fleischauer. The first report of a fish kill in Dunkard Creek, which criss-crosses the Mason-Dixon line, was recorded on Sept. 1, 2009. The kill has since affected at least 161 aquatic species. “Some of the thousands of fish that were killed were huge,” said Fleischauer. “It is particularly sad that this occurred in a beautiful stream that local residents had banded together to restore, maintain and protect through their watershed association.” There is not yet any official conclusion as to the factors which caused or contributed to the fish kill, but the presence of golden algae bloom, Prymnesium Parvum, which has not previously been identified in Mid-Atlantic waters, has been confirmed. Increased levels of total dissolved solids during the relevant time periods have also been recorded. House Bill 2960 was introduced during the Regular 2009 Session. It was sponsored by Delegates from the Dunkard Creek area including Fleischauer, Marshall, Beach and Shook (all D-Monongalia) and Delegates Manypenny (D-Taylor) and Longstreth (D-Marion). It would have required the DEP to establish standards to control the levels of total dissolved solids in state waters. In addition, the bill would require submission of data to the DEP regarding withdrawal of water for fracturing and other purposes, as well as treatment for discharge of fluids into state waters. The bill did not pass, but legislators plan to reintroduce it in the 2010 Regular Session. The Joint Water Resources Committee is chaired by Delegate Tim Manchin (D-Marion) and Senator John Unger (D-Berkeley). “I hope the interim meeting on Thursday will bring attention to the causes of this modern environmental disaster. I think it is important to look quickly into what other states have done in order to prevent this from spreading to other streams in our state,” said Manchin. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~ Joint Legislative Oversight Commission on State Water Resources - Agenda for Thursday, October 15, 2009, 9:00 am - 11:00 am Location: Senate Judiciary - Room 208W 1. Call to Order, 2. Roll Call, 3. Adoption of Procedural Rules 4. Approval of Minutes for February, June, July and September 2009 5. Representative of EQT Corporation - discussion of Company’s recent contract with a waste water disposal facility to receive and process Marcellus gas well waste water for all the Company’s drilling operations in West Virginia. 6 Staff presentation of memos summarizing other states and West Virginia’s requirements for water use associated with Marcellus formation gas drilling operations. 7. Presentations on the 30-mile fish kill on Dunkard Creek in Monongalia County that occurred this month: a. Scott Mandirola, West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection; b. Frank Jernejcic, District Fisheries Biologist, West Virginia Department of Natural Resources. 8. Duane Nichols, Upper Mon River Association; 9. Adjournment >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> "Commission" (Committee) Members: SENATE: John Unger II (Chair, D-Berkeley Co.), John Pat Fanning* (D-McDowell Co.), Mike Green (Vice-Chair, D-Raleigh), Mike Hall* (R-Putnam Co.), Walt Helmick (D-Pocahontas Co.). HOUSE OF DELEGATES: Tim Manchin* (Chair, D-Marion Co.), Barbara Evans Fleischauer (D-Monongalia), Virginia Mahan (D-Summers), Tim Miley (D-Harrison), Don Perdue (D-Wayne), Bob Schadler* (R-Mineral). STAFF: Joe Altizer*, Teri Anderson*, Sandy Johnson*, Jay Lazell*. *-Legislators and staff members present for this hearing. Barbara Fleischauer could not attend due to another meeting in Martinsburg. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> NOTES: This meeting took place as scheduled. It was a little late starting and with the formal part complete by 10:45 giving some time for conversations. Item 5. refers to the new brine processing facility in Fairmont. The visitor from EQT (formerly Equitable Gas) was not a technical person and provided essentially no useful information. I did not see the Memos mentioned in Item 6. Numerous questions were asked and three or so reporters were present to collect informal interviews. EQT-- The Appalachian Basin is bursting with new drilling and production activity, and EQT Production is at the center of it all. With more than 3.4 million acres, approximately 13,000 gross productive wells, and 3 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves, EQT is Appalachia’s largest exploration and production company, developing and implementing advanced drilling technology to tap into unconventional reservoirs such as shale, tight sands and coalbed methane. The Equitable Gas Company is a division of EQT, providing natural gas to over 252,000 customers in 10 counties of southwestern PA and 25 counties of northern WV. Scott Mandirola, WVDEP, presented the same Power Point slides shown at the UMRA meeting this past Friday at the Morgantown Airport. [See: _www.uppermon.org_ (http://www.uppermon.org/) ] Frank Jernejcic, District Fisheries Biologist, WV DNR presented the same Power Point slides shown by David Wellman this past Friday at the Morgantown Airport. [See: _www.uppermon.org_ (http://www.uppermon.org/) ]. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Summary of Remarks by Duane Nichols in Charleston, WV, October 15, 2009. The Upper Mon River Association has conducted 11 monthly Water Quality Forums at the Morgantown Airport in Monongalia County since November of 2008. The primary impetus was originally the high TDS and low flows in the Monongahela River most noticeable in August of 2008. Since that time, problems of high TDS have continued in the Mon River and in a number of its tributaries. WV and Pennsylvania representatives have cooperated and participated in these Forums. The need now exists to establish water quality standards for all the streams of WV, given that the recent fish kill on Dunkard Creek was so devastating. This was initially a crisis situation which became a disaster and a catastrophe. Thousands of fish, mussels, and other creatures are dead and no one knows how to regenerate the stream. The conditions on Dunkard Creek could be repeated on 18 or more other streams throughout West Virginia. A water quality standard of 500 parts per million, for example, would meet national drinking water standards, and this would be sufficiently low as to remove threats of a golden algae bloom, according to the information currently available. UMRA encourages the WV DEP to implement a web-site as soon as possible, to present the most recent data and other information available on the Dunkard Creek disaster and other possibly related sources. We understand that some sort of web-site may be in preparation at WV DEP. The sharing of information and the coordination among the state agencies of WV and PA as well as the federal agencies is of critical importance at this time. UMRA intends to continue monthly Water Quality Forums in Monongalia County. It was noted earlier today that most of the large underground mines in north central WV and southwester PA are interconnected underground such that water flows from one to the under and accumulates at various locations. Pennsylvania is now in the process of establishing a legacy trust fund, to collect monies for future pumping and treating of these waters. It is suggested that the WV legislature could encourage such funds and that WV DEP and WV PSC could promote trust funds for future water treatment, given that abandoned mine land monies are scarce. The UMRA folding display entitled Upper Mon Water Trail was distributed to each member of the committee present along with copies of the two page “ 11th MONONGAHELA RIVER WATER QUALITY FORUM, Sponsored by the Upper Monongahela River Association, October 9, 2009 – Morgantown, WV, DRAFT OVERVIEW, 2009 Dunkard Creek Fish Kill”. The importance of the Monongahela River was reviewed, given its substantial usage for public water supplies, industrial water supplies and recreational activities. The high TDS values experienced by the Morgantown Utility Board last summer and this past summer were described. This results in problems for each household with foul taste, hard water for washing activities, and the clogging of values and pipes. The problems of TDS in the cooling water of the numerous power plants were described including the issue of violating federal emission standards from cooling towers and the accumulation of salt solids within the evaporative cooling towers. And, the issue of undesirable polluted water for recreational purposes was mentioned. This talk resulted in a number of comments afterward indicating substantial sympathy among the committee members and the others present. It is estimated that approximately 25 observers attended this session, in addition to the “Commission” (Committee) and Staff. Attending the session was Don Garvin, Legislative Coordinator for the WV Environmental Council [www.wvecouncil.org], an umbrella organization representing the various environmental groups of the State. Beth Little of the Sierra Club attended. Also attending were David McMahon, an attorney for and founder of the WV Surface Owner’s Rights Organization [www.wvsoro.org] and Julie Archer also with wvsoro.org. Julie can also be reached at the WV Citizens Action Group [wvcag.org]. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>> Front page Charleston Gazette Friday 16 October 2009: DEP, DNR worried Dunkard fish kill could spread By _Ken Ward Jr._ (http://www.wvgazette.com/News/contact/xjneq+jitnmrggr+pbz+return=/News/2009…) , Staff writer, Charleston Gazettte CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- State regulators are concerned that excess pollution may cause a toxic algae that killed off fish in a 30-mile stretch of Dunkard Creek in Northern West Virginia to spread to more than a dozen other waterways, lawmakers heard Thursday. Department of Environmental Protection officials don't think they can eradicate the "golden algae" and instead are weighing ways to reduce contaminants that fostered the devastating fish kill in Monongalia County. "We can't ignore it," said Scott Mandirola, director of DEP's Division of Water and Waste Management. "If we ignore it, we may see an event like this again." Mandirola and Frank Jernejcic, a fisheries biologist at the state Division of Natural Resources, briefed a legislative interim committee Thursday morning on last month's fish kill, which left Dunkard Creek mostly lifeless. Jernejcic said the fish kill wiped out 99 percent of the fish in the West Virginia portion of Dunkard Creek, which runs along the Pennsylvania border. Also, it eliminated the creek's "very impressive mussel population," the major stronghold for mussels in the Monongahela River basin, Jernejcic said. Jernejcic explained that many of the creek's larger fish -- including muskies and smallmouth bass -- appeared to have tried to escape the algae by swimming into tiny tributaries. Many of them died when they swam back out into the main creek or starved in the tributaries, Jernejcic said. DEP and DNR officials in West Virginia have blamed the fish kill directly on the golden algae, but have conceded that high levels of pollution tied to several CONSOL Energy mine discharges made conditions nearly perfect for the algae to spread. Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection officials have pointed specifically to the discharge from the pools of polluted underground water at CONSOL's Blacksville No. 1 and No. 2 mines. Those are among two large pools of underground water in the region, where CONSOL has allowed older abandoned mines to fill with water as it pumps water out of active operations to allow Asked after the legislative meeting about the Pennsylvania conclusions, Mandirola said he does not disagree with them. Mandirola said high levels of total suspended solids, including salts such as chlorides and sulfates, helped foster the algae growth. Regulators often measure these materials by testing a stream's conductivity, or ionic strength, which is the ability of the water to conduct an electric charge. Water quality officials aren't sure how the golden algae -- which is normally not found in this part of the United States -- was transported into Dunkard Creek. It could have been brought in by waterfowl, on anglers' boots or in any number of other ways, officials said. During Thursday's meeting, Mandirola showed lawmakers a chart listing at least 18 other streams across West Virginia that have similar pollution problems. The list included the North Branch of the Potomac River, the Mud River and the Little Coal River. "Those are all now of concern because of this threat," Mandirola said. DEP plans to test those streams to see if they contain low levels of golden algae that are not yet toxic, Mandirola said. DEP officials are also considering speeding up a timetable for writing the state's first water quality standard for total suspended solids, or TDS. And, Mandirola said, the agency needs to re-examine its general policy so far of not writing pollution reduction plans for streams with high levels of conductivity. Duane Nichols, a chemical engineer and spokesman for the Upper Monongahela River Association, said the state should have seen Dunkard Creek coming and now needs to take steps to avoid a repeat of the fish kill. "What we saw as a crisis became a disaster," Nichols said. "We have a catastrophe on our hands up in Northern West Virginia. If we had done this earlier, we wouldn't have this problem." >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

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TDS exceedances in Mon River
by Duane330＠aol.com 15 Oct '09

15 Oct '09

Levels of total dissolved solids spike in Monongahela Thursday, October 15, 2009 By Don Hopey, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette For the third time in the past 12 months, dissolved contaminants in the Monongahela River have spiked well above federal and state water quality standards for taste and odor, and the situation is expected to get worse. The state Department of Environmental Protection announced yesterday that high levels of total dissolved solids, or TDS, in the river began showing up two weeks ago near the town of Crucible in Greene County. Since then, additional violations of the 500 parts per million TDS standard have been recorded in 46 miles of the river to Elizabeth in Allegheny County, where levels peaked on Saturday at about 600 parts per million. "This is the second time we've noted high TDS levels this fall and that's telling us that this is a problem," said DEP spokeswoman Helen Humphreys. "We'll be continuing to monitor the situation, but there's no reason to think that levels will not go higher again. There's no question we have a challenge before us." Last fall TDS levels exceeded water quality standards in more than 90 miles of the river and peaked at more than 900 parts per million. The Monongahela River is the water supply for 350,000 people and the 11 public water treatment facilities that draw water from the river are not equipped to remove TDS, which is a measure of all elements dissolved in water, including carbonates, chlorides, sulfates, nitrates, sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium. For most, high TDS levels will make the water smell and taste bad and spot dishes and glasses but do not make an affected water source unsafe to drink. But individuals allergic to sulfates can be sickened, and the DEP has once again advised concerned residents to use bottled water for drinking and cooking until river flows increase and TDS levels return to normal. Sources of TDS include sewage treatment plants, drainage from abandoned and active mines, power plant scrubber and coolant water discharges and wastewater from oil and gas well drilling operations. Don Hopey can be reached at _dhopey(a)post-gazette.com_ (mailto:dhopey@post-gazette.com) or 412-263-1983. Read more: _http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09288/1005633-113.stm#ixzz0U48MUJHa_ (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09288/1005633-113.stm#ixzz0U48MUJHa)

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Dunkard algae could spread ..........
by Duane330＠aol.com 14 Oct '09

14 Oct '09

----- Original Message ----- From: _Wallace Venable_ (mailto:Wallace.Venable@mail.wvu.edu) To: _dcsoinks(a)comcast.net_ (mailto:dcsoinks@comcast.net) Sent: Wednesday, October 14, 2009 2:15 PM Subject: Dunkard Creek information just posted on _www.UpperMon.org_ (http://www.uppermon.org/) including PowerPoints from MRRCC 9 October Meeting >From _http://www.uppermon.org/Dunkard_Creek/index.html_ (http://www.uppermon.org/Dunkard_Creek/index.html) MRR&CC Mon River Water Quality Forum - 9 October, 2009 The 9 October 2009 meeting of the Mon River Water Quality Forum focused on the Dunkard Creek fish kill. We offer .PDF versions of the following PowerPoint presentations which were made: _Dunkard Creek Fish Kill Assessment - September 2009_ (http://www.uppermon.org/Dunkard_Creek/WVDNR_Wellman_Dunkard-9Oct09.pdf) Frank Jernejcic and David Wellman, Fisheries Biologists, West Virginia Division of Natural Resources - Wildlife Resources Section _Dunkard Creek Aquatic Life Kills - September, 2009_ (http://www.uppermon.org/Dunkard_Creek/WVDEP_Campbell_Dunkard-9Oct09.pdf) Patrick Campbell, West Virginia DEP-DWWM (Division of Water and Waste Management) _Upper Monongahela River Water Quality Project - Project WRI 119 - July to September 09 Results_ (http://www.uppermon.org/Dunkard_Creek/WRI_Ziemkiewicz_dunkard-9Oct09.pdf) Paul Ziemkiewicz, Water Research Institute - West Virginia University _Steele Shaft AMD Treatment Facility_ (http://www.uppermon.org/Dunkard_Creek/AMDRI_Roberts-9Oct09.pdf) Elizabeth Roberts, AMD Reclamation, Inc. And on _http://www.uppermon.org/Dunkard_Creek/Algae.html_ (http://www.uppermon.org/Dunkard_Creek/Algae.html) We have obtained several other references on golden alga: _Growth at the edge of the niche: An experimental study of the harmful alga Prymnesium parvum_ (http://www.uppermon.org/Dunkard_Creek/Baker_et_al-2009.pdf) Jason W. Baker, James P. Grover, Ratheesh Ramachandrannair, Cody Black, Theodore W. Valenti, Jr., Bryan W. Brooks, and Daniel L. Roelkec - Limnol. Oceanogr., 54(5), 2009, 1679–1687 _Growth and Toxicity of Prymnesium parvum (Haptophyta) as a Function of Salinity, Light, and Temperature_ (http://www.uppermon.org/Dunkard_Creek/Baker_et_al-2007.pdf) Jason W. Baker, James P. Grover, Bryan W. Brooks, Fabiola Urena-Boeck, Daniel L. Roelke, Reagan Errera, and Richard L. Kiesling - J. Phycol. 43, 219– 227 (2007)

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Snail and bat protection in the Cheat Canyon
by duane330＠aol.com 13 Oct '09

13 Oct '09

To:? CLEAR members and friends..... Attached, please find the Third Joint Status Report filed with the US District Court last week.? We have been informed by the new property owner Allegheny Heartland LLC that they have no current plans to do more logging in the Cheat Canyon.? The new owner leases logging rights to third parties while retaining ownership of the land.? They currently have no leases for the property, or any immediate prospects.? We have been informed that we will be notified should they lease any of the timbering rights covered under the Agreement.??? Please let me know if?you have any questions. ? Duane Nichols See attachment for the detailed report.

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