The state Department of Environmental Protection has filed a motion in federal court to intervene in a proposed settlement to limit mining pollutants in streams.
At the heart of the issue is the Guyandotte River and the alleged failure of the DEP to administer water testing and limits for ionic toxicity in 11 state streams that affect 100,000 people. As a result, conservation groups filed a lawsuit.
The state Department of Environmental Protection has filed a motion in federal court to intervene in a proposed settlement to limit mining pollutants in streams.
At the heart of the issue is the Guyandotte River and the alleged failure of the DEP to administer water testing and limits for ionic toxicity in 11 state streams that affect 100,000 people. As a result, conservation groups filed a lawsuit.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed to settle the lawsuit by agreeing to establish specific water quality standards for mining runoff. Environmental groups celebrated the settlement and said it will restore aquatic life and the health of the streams.
“The consent decree comes after decades of advocacy and legal action by the Sierra Club and its partners to compel the EPA to fulfill its obligations under the Clean Water Act,” the Sierra Club said in a statement.
However, on April 22, the DEP filed a motion to have a seat at the table, which possibly could change the direction of the proposed settlement. In the motion the DEP said its interest could not be adequately represented by existing parties in the lawsuit, i.e. the EPA.
“As the primary regulator of water quality in the State of West Virginia, the WVDEP is flummoxed as to why it has been kept in the dark regarding a proposed settlement which must have been months in the making,” DEP said in the motion.
The state organization also said it was “astounded” that the EPA had not mounted a defense against the allegations made by the environmental groups in the lawsuit.
State leaders have also questioned the EPA’s proposed settlement, including U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin D-W.Va.
“If the EPA has any legitimate water quality concerns, they should have worked with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection,” Manchin said in a statement. “Which knows our waterways better than the federal government ever will. Instead of collaborating with the state, it appears the EPA colluded with environmental groups to enter into a ‘sue and settle’ agreement that bypasses the regulatory process and expands federal authority without any accountability.”
The three environmental groups on the lawsuit are the Sierra Club of West Virginia, the Highlands Conservancy, and the West Virginia Rivers Coalition.
The proposed settlement is open for comments from the public until April 29.
Around sundown, residents said you used to hear a roar of frogs. Now it’s silent.
They said they have broken out in rashes and had medical symptoms they had never experienced before like frequent headaches and stomach aches.
The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection filed a lawsuit against Pinnacle Mining, a defunct coal mining company that was bought by a company owned by Gov. Jim Justice. A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday at 1 p.m. in Pineville.
In the lawsuit, the DEP, accuses Pinnacle of discharging harmful chemicals into Indian Creek.
Around sundown, residents said you used to hear a roar of frogs. Now it’s silent.
They said they have broken out in rashes and had medical symptoms they had never experienced before like frequent headaches and stomach aches.
Along the creek bed, there are greasy pools, tongs of white slimy strings, and yellow foam. A woman who lives along the creek had 100 chickens die around the same time the frogs stopped singing.
Resident Richard Altizer said he doesn’t know what chemicals are causing the putrid sulfur smell that comes out of his neighbors well, but he knows it’s not natural. He said that someone should go to jail for poisoning people’s wells.
Altizer said he doesn’t trust the DEP even though in the lawsuit they filed the agency is requesting relief in the form of asking the companies to clean up the water sources and to prevent any more unauthorized discharges from entering the stream.
“It’s the DEP that is not protecting us like they were supposed to be,” Altizer said. “They did not protect us. And there will be no accountability.”
The EPA’s proposed consent decree would settle a lawsuit filed this month by environmental groups in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.
The U.S Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a settlement to a federal lawsuit over water pollution from coal mining.
The EPA’s proposed consent decree would settle a lawsuit filed this month by environmental groups in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.
It establishes total daily maximum loads for ionic toxicity in the lower Guyandotte watershed.
Ionic toxicity, dissolved mineral salts that result from surface mining, can impair aquatic life.
The West Virginia Rivers Coalition, the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy and the Sierra club filed the lawsuit on March 18. It named Adam Ortiz, the EPA Region 3 Administrator, as a defendant.
After years of neglect, a river access point called Gilbert Beach at Veterans Park is getting new life. The motivation to restore Gilbert Beach is about one part nostalgia, one part tourist attraction and two parts community service.
After years of neglect, a river access point called Gilbert Beach at Veterans Park is getting new life. The motivation to restore Gilbert Beach is about one part nostalgia, one part tourist attraction and two parts community service.
This segment is the seventh in an audio series called West Virginia Water Trails. Hear stories from people coming together across southern West Virginia, to create new economies and communities- with waterways. It’s made possible in part by the National Coal Heritage Area Authority.
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Gilbert Beach in Mingo County
In the town museum surrounded by Gilbert High memorabilia, artifacts of famous boxers and RC Cola bottles, lifelong resident David Fox points to an older black-and-white photo of Gilbert Beach during its ‘heyday’.
“Right here on the bottom is one of the boarding houses that used to cater to the travelers that used to come in and spend time on the beach,” Fox said.
He grew up in Gilbert in the ’40s and ’50s and remembers trains coming from Huntington hauling visitors to spend the day on the GIlbert Beach. “I swam there many times growing up,” Fox said. “We used to hang out there. We used to swim all the time anywhere in the river.”
Fox remembers when the water in the Guyandotte River was deeper along the river bank. Things changed after the R.D. Bailey Dam was completed in 1980.
“Because of the dam and the water and all of the holes that filled up with the silt,” Fox said, swimming holes “are not as deep as they used to be.”
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David Fox shares stories of swimming in the Guyandotte River while growing up in Gilbert during the 1940s and 1950s.
While the holes filled up, the sand changed color and brush began to creep in.
“I remember it used to be pure white sand. Then in the ’50s, we didn’t have the environmental laws that we have now,” Fox said, “a lot of coal mines dumped their waste in the river and you’d have these black streaks.”
The once white Gilbert Beach in Mingo County was neglected for years. But in just two short years, Mayor Jennifer Miller says local businesses and many residents have worked to restore the riverbank.
“They got some of the trees and debris that had been there for years and years,” Miller said. “It hadn’t been taken care of for quite some time.” The businesses and residents donated what they could: their time, equipment and manual labor to help restore Gilbert Beach. Miller expects the work will help provide more activities for visitors and locals.
“We need places for recreation, we need places for folks to be outdoors,” Miller said. “A lot of our elderly population loves to fish, and Veterans Park at the Gilbert Beach is one of the few areas that’s a gentle slope that’s easily accessible to most folks.”
The easier access is already helping residents who live just across the street from the riverbank at a women’s recovery center. Through the pandemic, residents were not allowed to have visitors.
“They were allowed to go over to the park. So it was wonderful for them during that time,” Miller said. “I would just hear story after story from them of how much it meant for them to be outside the connection with nature’s beautiful scenery. It just soothes the soul a little to be in that kind of atmosphere.”
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A backhoe works to clear large debris at Gilbert Beach.
The work that went into restoring this Guyandotte river access pointstarted with a logging company clearing large debris. Then word got out and in the paper.
“One day I picked up a Mingo Messenger newspaper down there and I actually think I was just checking out at a gas station and it said, ‘plans to revive Gilbert Beach, 1920 weekend destination,” southern West Virginia business owner Will Daniels said. “The only beach in West Virginia’ and I was like, ‘that’s cool.’”
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Small business owner, Will Daniels, paid his workers to clean up Gilbert Bach but didn’t charge the town.
Daniels juggles phone calls and customer service from the breakroom of Dixon’s Automotive Service, a repair shop he owns in neighboring Wyoming County.
In addition to the repair shop, Daniels owns XP Services, a lawn and landscaping business, so sending help just seemed to make sense. It was actually Daniels’ idea to pitch in.
After reaching out to the town of Gilbert, Daniels brought about 12 XP Services employees who worked for about eight hours clearing brush and garbage from the river and riverbanks in Gilbert.
“Tires, there was a lot of metal. I’m even wanting to say there was a railroad track and different parts related to the river that had embedded in the sand and the river,” Daniels said. “A lot of things that just generally plague our streams in West Virginia and times it by 50 to 100 years. It was a task to say the least.” XP has donepaid work for the town of Gilbert, but this job was different. He paid his workers but didn’t take money from the town.
“The guys would have probably come over and done it for free,” Daniels said, “but you’re taking away a day that they could be with their families. This is hard work, and by Saturday they’re tired.”
Daniels says he gives back to the region with labor because that’s the way he was raised and it’s simply the culture of the area.
“Work is respected in West Virginia. Manual labor is respected,” Daniels said. “I want to make this place as good as it can be. I want to give people jobs. I want to give people raises. I want to clean it up. I want to give more opportunities to our kids.”
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Workers pulling railroad ties out of the river at Gilbert Beach.
Gilbert Beach at Veterans Park in Mingo County was officially named a Guyandotte access point in April 2020. Miller, Gilbert’s mayor, says Fortner Logging, the small business that helped to get things rolling, is donating more resources to clear large debris this spring. Miller hopes to install a sign and informational kiosk this year as well.
In Lincoln County, creating the access points along the Guyandotte River turned out to be much more than a way to get on the river, it was also a way to unite the community.
This story is the third of a series called West Virginia Water Trails. Hear stories from people coming together across southern West Virginia, to create new economies and communities- with waterways. It’s made possible in part by the National Coal Heritage Area Authority.
Finding a Way Onto the Guyandotte
Just behind the West Hamlin fire station is a path to a river. A quick walk down a grassy hill takes boaters to a concrete pad by the Guyandotte. In this region, accessing the river wasn’t always this simple. In fact, the concrete on this access point was poured in 2019.
Fire Chief Ron Porter remembers the challenges of getting boats on the Guyandotte before the access point.
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Slide at Branchland Park after repair work.
“That was tough,” Porter said. “You were fighting briars and brambles and slipping and sliding over the riverbank. And to get that back out was doubly difficult. So you had to drag it up over a riverbank and through all the brush and mud.”
Porter and the department often pitch in to help maintain the access point. He says it’s important for water rescue emergencies. He’s also noticed more people floating and enjoying the water.
“We have a lot of people enjoying kayaking, especially. In the summertime, it’s not unusual to see a dozen or 15 kayaks in our parking lot out here where they’ve taken out on the river,” Porter said. “They’ll park their cars here, go further upstream and put their kayak or canoe or whatever craft they’re using, and paddle, down the river and take out here. [The river] has been utilized a whole lot more now than it ever was.”
Another access point on the guide is at Branchland Park. It was barely noticeable just a few years ago.
“I lived here for years and did not even know that there was a boat dock [at Branchland] because it was just weeds and trees,” Branchland resident Wanda Cremeans said. “You couldn’t see the boat dock.”
Wanda lives along the Guyandotte River not far from the park and entry point. She remembers when the work on the Branchland access point began.
“We started cleaning it up and burning the brush,” Cremeans said. “[We] wanted to get kayaking, going again. We had a lot of people, friends, family, a lot of Cremeans’s jump in there and help with everything. So some of those people have already passed on, just like Tony has.”
Tony Cremeans was her husband. He passed away in 2020. He ran an auto repair shop and was an advocate for recreation on the river.
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Wanda and Tony Cremeans at Branchland Park in 2014. Tony Cremeans passed away in 2020.
“He was very community oriented and liked to bring things to Branchland for people to have fun,” she said. “He loved to live life and have fun.”
Wanda, her family and many other volunteers did a lot of work to clean up Branchland Park. Ralph Triplet grew up at Branchland and worked closely with Tony and other volunteers to clean up the park and entry point.
“Everybody’s close in the neighborhood but we kind of partnered up and we said we were kind of tired of the ‘Guyan River’ and the Branchland community having a black eye that it had,” Triplett said. “We thought we would try to clean up the riverbank up there at Branchland a little bit.”
Ralph and other volunteers wanted to bring back the Guyandotte River Regatta that he says was big deal in the 1970’s.
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Jerry and Randy Lawson at the finish line at the former bridge at West Hamlin of the River Regatta in the 1970’s.
Guyandotte River Regatta Returns
Work on a river access point is never really done. Triplet says volunteers pitch in annually to pick up litter. The community also put up artwork painted by Wanda Cremeans that celebrates the river. They also worked with the Coal Heritage Area Authority to put up signs that clearly marked the access points.
Word got out and people from the region started showing up. There was even a kayak rental and shuttle business that opened. With the revived access point, residents worked to host the Guyandotte River Regatta in 2014. Wanda Cremeans remembers cookouts and a car show to go with it.
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Guyandotte River Regatta put in at Branchland Park in Lincoln County, W.Va. in 2014.
“It was a fellowship,” she said. “It’s just like a party, like a community party.”
The community party lasted about all weekend. The event was gaining momentum and helping to bring a few smiles back to the Branchland community.
“Branchland didn’t and doesn’t get a lot of events,” she said. “So, it was like, ‘Hey, this is so cool.’ Branchland is doing something.”
Organizations and volunteers who wanted to maintain the Guyandotte Water Trail formed the Guyandotte Water Trail Alliance in 2014. With help from volunteers and the Alliance, the Regatta expanded from Branchland in Lincoln County to four other entry points and counties along the Guyandotte River including Wyoming, Mingo, Logan, and Cabell. With the ongoing clean up efforts and clearly marked access points, the Guyandotte River remains a West Virginia Water Trail.
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Guyandotte River Regatta, 2014
“This section of the river parallels Route 10,” Ralph Triplett. “You can see the river, the entire course. And there’s various pull offs, people can see it and watch or dance and I think we have a lot of potential for growth on what we have here.”
Because of the COVID 19 pandemic, the Regatta has been canceled the past two years. Plans are underway to bring it back this year. Chief Ron Porter hopes another regatta reignites the momentum and community pride he saw in his hometown before the pandemic.
“We really need jobs and we need the businesses and the opportunity to have more services available,” Porter said. “If tourism, if it can in some way play a role in that, that will be fun. That would be great.”
There’s a lot of work ahead of the community, lots of organizing, fundraising, and even more cleanup along the river. Ralph Triplet says finding a new generation to help will be critical to the success.
“We’re definitely looking for new blood,” Triplet said “A lot of us are, further down the highway, any kind of support that we could get. I hope this works out well for the whole river. So yeah it’s a good undertaking.”
Triplet says work is underway to register the Guyandotte Water Trail Alliance as a 501 c3. There’s another access point on the Guyandotte just outside of West Hamlin called Salt Rock. This site has been closed for a few years.
Other organizers met in 2020 with state officials with plans to create a new access point in Ranger.
On January 5, 1810, the Virginia General Assembly established the village of Guyandotte at the confluence of the Guyandotte and Ohio rivers in Cabell County.
Credit e-wv, The West Virginia Encyclopedia online.
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By the late 1830s, Guyandotte was a popular Ohio River port and a busy stagecoach stop on the James River and Kanawha Turnpike. The town’s gristmill was supposedly the largest between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.
In November 1861, Confederate troops won a battle at Guyandotte. The next day, Northern troops took back control of the town. Incensed by local support for the Confederacy, the soldiers set fire to the town.
The village’s fortunes took a more lasting downturn in 1871. As the legend goes, railroad tycoon Collis Huntington was considering Guyandotte for the western terminus of his Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. On a visit, he supposedly received the equivalent of a parking ticket for leaving his horse unattended outside a Guyandotte tavern. Feeling slighted by the town, the railroad mogul instead located his terminus a few miles downstream—at what would become the new city of Huntington.
The city of Huntington grew rapidly and overshadowed Guyandotte. Since 1911, Guyandotte has been part of Huntington.
