This news story originally provided by The Times Leader

August 27, 2005

Slurry spill contained

By MICHAEL SCHULER, Times Leader Staff Writer

CREWS ARE working to contain a spill after a hole in a valve flange on a pipeline sent coal slurry into Captina Creek near Powhatan Point Tuesday, creating a large fish kill and causing other environmental damage.

The Ohio EPA received the call about the spill Tuesday. It was reported to have occurred at approximately 5 a.m. An emergency response team was sent to the scene.

The slurry, a liquid by-product created from the process of washing and processing coal, effected more than 3,000 linear feet of the creek.

According to Mike Settles, media relations, Ohio EPA, initially it was believed the spill contaminated 1,500 feet of the creek, but that figure was later revised. A temporary dam was constructed to contain the spill.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the Ohio EPA, American Energy Corp., and private companies have been working at the scene, west of Ohio 148 and Ohio 145 to clean up the disaster. The clean-up is expected to take about 10 days.

According to David R. Celebrezze, outreach coordinator, Ohio Environmental Council, American Energy Corp. does not have a permit to install the pipeline, but had been in the process of trying to obtain one.

Settles said the company did file an application to install the slurry line in September 2004, but it was never approved. He went on to say the company will likely be cited for an "unauthorized discharge."

The company might have filed for a permit with ODNR, Settles said.

While the slurry spill is having a negative effect on the creek, Kelly Capuzzi, environmental specialist 2, Ohio EPA Division of Surface Water, said the fish population will probably recover.

Capuzzi said that she had taken samples from Captina on Aug. 3 to study the effects from a similar spill from about a year ago. That study showed the fish community did recover.

"Captina is one of the best creeks in the state," Capuzzi said. "It's an exceptional warm water area, and that isn't a title we give to just any waterway."

One of the factors in that recovery, Capuzzi said, was large amounts of rain that helped to wash the slurry out of the creek and off of its banks.

But she also warned that a small amount of rain could actually make the problem much worse, causing the slurry spill to expand outside of its contained area.

American Energy Corporation did not return a telephone call to comment on the situation.