Sludge dump spoils waters - with VIDEO
Apr. 30—Jonathan Pilkington was sitting on the bank of Howard Creek in Summers County two weeks ago when he noticed something in the water.
"The creek started flowing black," the 44-year-old said. "I thought, 'That's odd. It hasn't even really rained.'"
Over the following days, Pilkington, who lives a stone's throw from the creek, upon which he operates a business that caters to tourists, traipsed the woods, following tributaries in hopes of finding answers.
"It took me about a week to narrow it down, but I figured out the only place it could have come from was at the top of the creek where the railroad is," he said.
"Sure enough, there was a bunch of sludge being dumped over the track."
Pilkington said he reached out to the Summers County Health Department, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection and the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. He even tried to contact the New River Gorge National Park as Howard Creek runs into the Greenbrier River, which flows into the New River.
"I couldn't get anyone," he said.
"...But everybody showed up today."
----In an email to The Register-Herald Friday, Terry Fletcher, chief communications officer for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, confirmed a "release of material" from the cleaning of a railroad tunnel near Howard Creek.
"The WVDEP was notified in the last 24 hours and responded early Friday morning," Fletcher wrote. "No fish kill has been observed and the WVDEP is staying in contact with the responsible party and their environmental consultant. Both the responsible party and the consultant are working to remediate the impacts and the WVDEP will continue to monitor the situation."
The responsible parties, according to Pilkington, are CSX and Badger, the contractor he claims dumped "sludge" removed from beneath the tracks of the Big Bend Tunnel in Talcott.
Cindy Schild, director of media relations and public affairs for CSX, confirmed the railroad's involvement Friday. Through email, Schild said the company halted track maintenance immediately upon learning of the spill Thursday evening.
"CSX has deployed containment measures and is working with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection to assess the situation and conduct environmental testing," the statement read. "We are currently developing a remediation plan."
A spillage report received by the WVDEP early Friday morning included the name of Joe McCann, senior manager of hazardous materials for CSX, and also lists Badger Company/CSX as the responsible party.
The report states a 350-cubic-yard spill of nonhazardous or toxic material at "Rail Road Marker CA 350.8 Dun Club Rd." in Summers County.
"A contractor was dumping muddy water on the caller's property causing an impact to both Howard's Creek and the Greenbrier river (sic)," the report states. "DEP inspector is aware of what is going on and currently on the sight (sic). The spill is mobilized at this time, along with an environmental consultant and clean up crew is currently at the scene. Contractor has been seized from working at the site for the time being."
Pilkington is a "retired" mechanical engineer who returned to his family's secluded Summers County property 10 years ago in search of a cleaner lifestyle.
Although the report states the "muddy water" is nontoxic, he worries what lab testing will show.
"There's 100 years' worth of asbestos and coal," he said of the material pulled from the tunnel. "That's coal which has radioactivity and arsenic, PCBs and all the oil from the trains that have passed through."
Autumn Crowe, program director for West Virginia Rivers, also submitted a spillage report upon learning of the incident Thursday.
She said she, too, had been "very concerned" about the toxicity of the materials. She said she learned through numerous discussions with DEP investigators Friday, however, that the dumped material is believed to be primarily sediment and coal fines.
She said she was told samples had been taken to a lab in Beckley but she wasn't sure when the DEP would have the results.
----The Register-Herald visited the site Thursday and observed a load of sludge being dumped near Howard Creek. No workers were on site upon a return visit Friday afternoon.
Though no official word on a timeline for the cleanup process was available Friday evening, Pilkington said he hoped it would begin immediately.
"As soon as it starts raining, all of that is going to kill every fish from the Greenbrier to the New River," he said, expressing his belief that the sediment is toxic.
Pilkington is the owner of Rewilder Wilder at Willowwood.
He said tourists travel from across the country and around the world to spend time in nature as they camp, fish, kayak and enjoy the simplicity of Howard Creek and the Greenbrier River.
"It's gorgeous here," he said. "It's beautiful. The air is clean. The water is clean.
"Or it was clean."
His first booking for the season is just a week away. He said he knows the clear water to which he's accustomed won't be back by then, but he hopes it's on the way.
"It's a special place for me," he said. "I was born four miles down from here. I'll die here.
"It's the most beautiful place I know."
----
Crowe said it's important for all West Virginians to know where to turn for help when they suspect water pollution.
In an effort to help "train" citizens to monitor the streams in their own backyards, West Virginia Rivers partnered with Trout Unlimited to develop the West Virginia Stream Watch app.
"One of the issues we found is that people living along creeks are the people who know them the best," she said. "They know when conditions change and when pollution happens, but they don't know who to report it to.
"We are trying to educate landowners and citizens who live on, play on and recreate on our rivers and streams, a way to report incidents."
Crowe encourages people to contact the WVDEP at 1-800-642-3074 or by email at dep.eewebcomplaint@wv.gov.
— Email: mjames@register-herald.com
