Mine waste contributed to big fish kill in Pa., W.Va.

In September we reported the largest West Virginia fish kill in more than two decades at Dunkard Creek, which flows into Pennsylvania. Now the Environmental Protection Agency says part of the blame for the kill lies with two Consol Energy mines. The report lists toxins from a golden algae bloom as the cause of a fish kill, but says high levels of pollution from mine discharges created conditions for the algae to grow, Ben Adducchio of West Virginia Public Radio reports.

EPA Aquatic Biologist Lou Reynolds found the golden algae that caused the fish kill in Greene County, north of Dunkard. "High TDS [total dissolved solids] is associated with better growth of this algae; those mine discharges are the major contributors." Consol Director of Public Relations Joe Cerenzia told Adducchio, "Our position is that we still think further study is needed, we think there are a lot of factors that contributed to the algae bloom, aside from discharge from our mining operations. We have been willing to work and have been working with regulatory agencies on coming up with a cause. It is our belief that there still a lot of things happening with Dunkard Creek that need to be determined before you can come out with a final, definitive conclusion." (Read more) For the first story on the findings, from Don Hopey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, click here.