Tag: Kanawha Eagle

West Virginia Plant Faces Fines in Slurry Spill

  West Virginia environmental regulators have proposed more than $21,000 in fines for a Kanawha County plant that spilled coal slurry into a creek.

The fines are for three citations issued after 108,000 gallons of slurry spilled into Fields Creek from Patriot Coal’s Kanawha Eagle preparation plant on Feb. 11.

Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Tom Aluise told the Charleston Daily Mail that the company is contesting about $20,000 in penalties associated with two orders issued after the spill. One stopped all work except cleanup at the plant. The other was a notice of violation stemming from discolored water entering the Kanawha River during cleanup on Feb. 19.

A Patriot Coal spokeswoman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

W.Va. Company That Spilled Coal Slurry Cited Again

State environmental regulators have cited another violation at the West Virginia plant that spilled coal slurry into a stream last week.

The Department of Environmental Protection said the Kanawha Eagle preparation plant let more blackened water flow into the Kanawha River downstream Wednesday.
 
The additional release into the Kanawha occurred after snow melted and raised water levels in the affected stream, Fields Creek. The rising levels stirred up silt at the bottom of the creek. The creek overran some dams used to slow down water and catch slurry particles before they hit the Kanawha River.
 
On Feb. 11, the Kanawha County plant owned by Patriot Coal spilled 108,000 gallons of slurry, temporarily turning Fields Creek black.
 
State tests showed water quality at a treatment plant downstream in Huntington hasn’t changed.
 

Sanitation Commission, DEP: Water Quality Unchanged After Slurry Spill

State regulators say tests indicate water quality hasn’t changed following a coal slurry spill in a Kanawha River tributary.
 
The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission tested water samples Saturday through Tuesday at Huntington’s water intake on the Ohio River. The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection says the results indicate no water quality changes.
 
The DEP says its tests of Kanawha River samples last Thursday show water quality at acceptable levels for public water supplies and fisheries.
 
On Feb. 11, 108,000 gallons of slurry spilled into Fields Creek from Patriot Coal’s Kanawha Eagle preparation plant.
 
The DEP said Wednesday that slightly elevated levels of aluminum have been found within the affected area of Fields Creek. The agency attributes the elevated levels to materials used to remediate the site.
 

W.Va. OKs Controls Tests at Kanawha Slurry Spill Site

West Virginia regulators say a coal operator can begin testing new control measures at the site of a slurry spill.
 
The Department of Environmental Protection said Wednesday that it has modified an order halting all work at Patriot Coal’s Kanawha Eagle preparation plant in Winifrede.
 
The change from an imminent harm cessation order to a notice of violation will allow the plant to conduct the tests.
 
The DEP issued the order after 108,000 gallons of coal slurry spilled from a pipeline into Fields Creek on Feb. 11.

Control measures installed by Kanawha Eagle since the spill include remote cameras along the slurry line and two external flow meters that are designed to alert company officials of problems.
 

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