Problems with Ten Mile Creek continue
(This is the first in a two-part series)
It is hard not to miss the red rusty appearance of the Ten Mile Creek at the site of the old Clyde mine in East Bethlehem Township, near Clarksville. It is now a common sight to see a separation line, midstream, between fresh water and the reddish-orange mine water discharging directly into Ten Mile, unchecked and untreated.
As this raw mine wastewater continues downstream in Ten Mile, it marks its passing by painting the retaining wall that parallels the Clarksville-Millsboro Road with a bright rusty red color.
What is going on with Ten Mile Creek? The answer is simple: nothing is being done to correct this problem, which is the responsibility of the state Department of Environmental Protection.
Let me first start with a little history of the stream. Ten Mile Creek got its name for being 10 miles south of Brownsville. At one time it was thought that Brownsville would become the “Gateway to the West.” However, this entitlement was eventually bestowed upon Pittsburgh, owing to its location.
As we know, Ten Mile Creek has a south and a north branch. The north branch has its beginning near Claysville in Washington County and the south branch has its source near Graysville in Greene County. Both have been very important in the development of the mining industry and now with the Marcellus Gas industry. Its water has been invaluable for the industrial development of our area, but what has the stream received in return?
In many cases, it has received the worst that industry had to offer. In the early development of coal, the north branch was red with iron from the mining industry. This culminated with a major fish kill in the early 1960s. Over one million fish were killed and this did not include the loss of aquatic life other than fish. The restitution for this kill was minimal.
Seems like history repeated itself on Sept. 9, 2009, when Dunkard Creek faced the same indiscretion with a loss of over one million fish and the restitution for Pennsylvania was zero. As for the north fork, the mining has ended and the stream is making a recovery with trout being stocked near Marianna. How the drilling by Range Resources will affect the future of the stream remains to be seen.
As for the south branch, it is a different story. It has been documented that the discharges by Emerald Mine from the 001 into Smith Creek is affecting the ecology of the stream. These discharges from Emerald Mine are now being challenged by a group and in all probability the dispute will go to court. In the meantime, the levels of electronic conductivity (EC) and total dissolved solids (TDS) are still running high, and well beyond suggested limits.
Further downstream lies the Mather Dump, and its run-off is still having a major detrimental affect on the stream. This is still occurring even after $4.9 million dollars was allocated for cleanup of the refuse pile a few years ago. The dump is still there, but the money is gone. Where did the money go?
Further downstream after the two branches come together, there is the outbreak from the Clyde Mine at Clarksville. The DEP is responsible for this discharge and nothing has been done to correct the problem since November of 2011, when the treatment plant was shut down. The discharge is extremely high in iron, aluminum, bromides, TDS, EC manganese, and many more unwanted chemicals. Yes, the discharge has been tested by two separate accredited laboratory sources and the discharge is as bad as mentioned. The question as to what is being done to correct the problem is simple – nothing.
The Izaak Walton League of America, (IWLA), Greene County Chapter, has made repeated requests for a resolution to the problem. But, requests seem to either fall on deaf ears, or receive generalized excuses as responses, such as “lack of money” or “the discharge is minimal and the impact is minimal.” In other words, there is no solution in the near future. As each day passes, thousands of gallons of untreated mine waste water are entering our drinking water system.
Ken Dufalla, a resident of Clarksville, Greene County, is president of the Henry Enstrom Greene County Chapter of the Izaak League. He was recently honored as Pennsylvania’s “Ike of the Year” award for his work in protecting the environment.