Sep 16, 2010 By Holly K. Hildreth for The 4 min read

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – A representative of an environmental watchdog group urged members of the Mountaineer Audubon Society on Tuesday to contact their local lawmakers and encourage stronger regulations for both the coal and natural gas industries, which she maintains are both having negative effects on waterways in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Dr. Deborah Fulton, a member of the West Virginia Sierra Club and a former veterinarian, cited the September 2009 fish kill in Dunkard Creek, which meanders through northern West Virginia and Greene County in southwestern Pennsylvania to the Monongahela River, as a reason for the need for stiffer regulations.

An algae bloom released toxins that killed most of the aquatic life in the creek.

Some environmental groups have blamed discharges from Consol Energy’s Blacksville No. 2 mine in West Virginia for causing the algae bloom, but the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection said the algae was one of several factors in the fish kill and it has not pinpointed the source of the algae.

Water temperature, conductivity, salinity and nutrients in the water influence algae and the toxins it produces, the West Virginia DEP said.

The Monongahela River flows north to Pittsburgh and supplies water for communities. Prior to the Dunkard Creek fish kills in 2009, the drinking water for those communities had dangerously high TDS (total dissolved solids) levels, which included high levels of carcinogens. Although the water is treated, some of the TDS remain, Fulton said.

Fulton added that the river is on the list of the top 10 most dangerous rivers in the country in terms of pollutants.

Fulton explained that if a person boils a pot of water, after the water evaporates, what is left at the bottom of the pan is the TDS. Rainwater has a TDS level 10, while rivers and lakes generally have a TDS of 100 to 120 and the ocean, a TDS of 35,000, Fulton said. In September 2009, the TDS levels in Dunkard Creek approached 24,000, creating marine-life conditions, which allowed for the growth of the toxic golden algae. Golden algae are not native to West Virginia, and the first documented discovery of golden algae in West Virginia was made in Dunkard Creek.

Fulton said the golden algae organisms kill aquatic life by producing a toxin that causes hemorrhaging of the gills. As that barrier breaks down, more toxins enter into the bloodstream. Photos of dead fish showed red, enlarged gills, she said.

“Anything that has gills is hit very hard,” Fulton said. Although the golden algae do not harm humans, it is harmful to other species, such as birds, because it affects the food chain.

“This is really upsetting to a lot of people,” Fulton said as she showed the audience a photograph of children looking at dead fish.

Fulton told the crowd that she is upset with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WV-DEP) for allowing companies, such as CONSOL Energy, to pollute the state’s waterways. In April, West Virginia decided to allow CONSOL Energy to continue discharging water into Dunkard Creek. The company was ordered to monitor the golden algae, TDS, chlorides, alkalinity and water temperature around the discharge site. CONSOL also was ordered to notify the WV-DEP if the algae density reaches or exceeds 10,000 cells per milliliter, and the company also is required to build a reverse osmosis and evaporation/crystallization treatment plant for discharges by May 31, 2013.

Fulton said there are 20 other streams and rivers in West Virginia with high levels of TDS.

Fulton said she also hopes West Virginia will pass “stronger and tougher enforcement of Marcellus shale wastewater.”

To drill for gas in the Marcellus shale formation, gas companies use millions of gallons of water to fracture the shale to release the natural gas.

The water used in “hydrofracking” is laced with undisclosed chemicals. Fulton said the wastewater from the “fracking” is highly toxic.

Fulton said that if the people do not speak out about protecting their waterways, legislators will listen to the lobbyists, not their constituents. She said that the gas industry employs 23 lobbyists in Charleston, W.Va.

Mountaineer Audubon Society has members in Harrison, Marion, Monongalia, Preston and Taylor counties in West Virginia and Fayette and Greene counties in Pennsylvania.