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| Conservation
Issues |
Cleanup begins at Superfund site in Marion County
EPA officials keeping chemicals out of Monongahela River
Site of the 2001 WVBF State Championship
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| Several WVBF tournament boats navigate through the Opekiska lock chamber
on the Mon River |
Associated Press
FAIRMONT -- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials are working to keep mercury and other chemicals
from entering the Monongahela River.
''This removal action is needed to eliminate immediate risks to the environment from uncontrolled releases of contaminated
sediments,'' Christian Matta, EPA remediations project manager, said.
The problem involves a small tributary that flows into the Monongahela River from the northwest area of the site
through a culvert underneath an abandoned railroad track. The culvert has become clogged with soil and debris,
eroding a raised bank around i t that had been keeping sediment out of the river.
Sediment, which is contaminated with high levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and mercury, is now entering
the river.
Richard Kuhn, EPA public affairs specialist, said the removal is time critical. An EPA on-scene coordinator was
to arrive at the Big John site Friday to help EPA officials and contractors, he said.
While Kuhn said the contaminants do not pose an immediate threat to residents, it can be harmful to surrounding
natural life.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, also called PAHs, have been found in at least 600 of the more than 1,400 Superfund
sites nationwide. They are from a group of more than 100 different chemicals formed during the incomplete burning
of fossil fuels.
Mercury, which is found at 714 Superfund sites, can damage the brain, kidneys and developing fetuses at high levels.
In addition, cadmium has been found in smaller levels in the sediment.
''Both of those contaminants have the potential to accumulate in aquatic organisms and their food chains,'' Kuhn
said. ''We're concerned about the organisms taking up the contaminants.''
EPA officials and contractors are working to install a new culvert and repair the eroded bank to create a sedimentation
basin that will act as a dam for the contaminated sediment. EPA officials expect the work to take five to 10 days.
Kuhn said that the EPA is funding the project because the parties responsible for the Big John site contamination
didn't believe the situation was their responsibility.
Reilly Tar and Chemical, which first ran the site, has since been renamed Reilly Industries. Westinghouse, which
dumped waste products at the site, is owned by Viacom, Inc., the parent company of CBS. Family members who ran
the salvage yard have since died.
SATURDAY 24 MARCH 2001
Informational Meeting Scheduled to Discuss Pollution in the Monongahela River
Citizens in the Monongahela River watershed will have the opportunity to learn more about plans to improve water
quality in their area.
An informational meeting will be held April 10 to discuss proposals to develop total maximum daily loads, or TMDLs,
for the Monongahela River and its tributaries. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at Pricketts Fort State Park in
Fairmont. The West Virginia Division of Environmental Protection's (DEP) Office of Water Resources is hosting the
meeting.
Federal law requires that TMDLs be developed for streams that are water quality limited. In simple terms, a TMDL
is a plan of action used to clean up polluted waters. The plan includes pollution source identification and strategy
development for contaminant source reduction or elimination.
In December, the DEP proposed that the Monongahela River and 37 acid mine drainage impaired tributaries undergo
TMDL development in 2001. The water quality limited water appears on the 1998 303(d) list of impaired streams.
A water quality limited water can be defined as a waterbody which, due to pollution impairment, fails to meet water
quality standards. The Monongahela River and its tributaries are listed as being impaired by aluminum. An unnamed
tributary of the Monongahela River on the former Sharon Steel site in Fairmont is impaired by iron and manganese.
The unnamed tributary is also slated for TMDL development.
Meeting attendees can expect to learn about water quality in the Monongahela River, when TMDLs will be completed
for the streams, and how local citizens can be involved in the process.
For more information on the meeting, contact Jessica Welsh at (304) 558-2108 or via e-mail at
jwelsh@mail.dep.state.wv.us.
Meeting information is also available on the Office of Water Resources' Web page at http://www.dep.state.wv.us. |
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