Who Killed Dunkard Creek? (Part 1)

by: Clem Guttata

Sun Oct 25, 2009 at 12:38:16 PM EDT

Dunkard Creek is dead. (All emphasis mine.)

October 19, 2009

Search for remaining Dunkard fish finds only one at Mason-Dixon Park
By Ben Adducchio

West Virginia DNR search for remaining fish in Dunkard Creek turned up only one white sucker at a site in Mason-Dixon Historical Park.

September 26, 2009

30-mile fish kill at Dunkard Creek
DEP delayed action on pollution problems over the last decade
By Ken Ward Jr.

Three weeks ago, fish started dying in Dunkard Creek, a scenic stream that winds along the West Virginia-Pennsylvania border in Monongalia County.

[snip]

Dunkard Creek was having problems long before fish started going belly up.

Since at least 2002, the DEP has listed Dunkard Creek and several tributaries as "biologically impaired." At least two major coal discharges have consistently violated water quality limits -- sometimes discharging five or six times the legal standards -- for years.

Who Killed Dunkard Creek?

Stayed tuned. This week we'll review a long list of suspects...