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This news story originally provided by The Daily Press
September 20, 2005
DEP orders Massey operation to shut down after slurry spill
By the Associated Press
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- State regulators have ordered a Massey Energy Co. subsidiary to cease portions of its operations after an unknown amount of coal slurry spilled into a Logan County creek, the third such spill in three months.A broken slurry line at Massey's Bandmill Coal Corp. facility near McConnell on Monday sent blackwater into the Right Fork of Rum Creek, affecting about a mile of the stream, Department of Environmental Protection spokeswoman Jessica Greathouse said Monday night. The creek is a tributary of Rum Creek and the Guyandotte River.
The agency's Division of Mining and Reclamation issued an imminent harm cessation order against Bandmill that shut down parts of the operation affected by the broken line until it is repaired and the creek clears, Greathouse said.
"The company is pumping blackwater into a containment pond and that will hopefully minimize damage caused by the spill," she said.
Monday's incident was the third blackwater spill at Bandmill since July. Similar spills happened on July 21 and on Aug. 4 that turned Rum Creek black and discolored a portion of the Guyandotte River.
Bandmill was issued a notice of violation for the earlier spills for affecting the state's waters, she said.
The coal company reported the spills to the DEP. Massey Energy is based in Richmond.
Slurry, a mix of water and impurities generated in coal processing, resembles an oil spill when it leaks into the environment.
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