This article originally provided by The Courier-Journal

October 17, 2000

Patton declares emergency over coal-slurry spill

Pollution causes water shortages in 10 counties

From Staff and AP Reports

Gov. Paul Patton declared a state of emergency in much of northeastern Kentucky yesterday because of water shortages caused by last week's massive spill of coal slurry.

Patton said the shortages are affecting drinking water supplies, basic sanitation and fire protection.

The emergency declaration covers Boyd, Bracken, Carter, Fleming, Greenup, Lawrence, Lewis, Mason, Martin and Robertson counties. All are within the Big Sandy and Ohio rivers' watersheds, which are being affected by the spill's leading edge.

Yesterday a federal official predicted the cleanup -- expected to cost millions of dollars -- could take up to half a year. The official, Fred Stroud, is on an emergency response team from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The spill forced the cities of Inez, Louisa and Kermit, W. Va., to close water intakes and rely on supplies they have on hand. The slurry flowing into streams also forced officials yesterday to close classrooms, car washes and coin laundries to conserve the dwindling clean-water supply.

THE SPILL began last Wednesday at a plant owned by Martin County Coal Corp. About 200 million gallons of slurry with the consistency of wet cement started flowing into streams after an impoundment gave way at a coal-preparation plant on a mountaintop outside of Inez. The leak occurred when an adjacent underground coal mine collapsed and the material gushed into the mine, along its shafts and into nearby streams.

Stroud said water and sludge still are flowing out of the abandoned mine. When the mine collapsed, it broke a hole in the bottom of the impoundment.

"We went in and plugged the break, but everything that went into the mine below is still being carried out," Stroud said.

Patton's declaration means the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management will coordinate activities of state and private relief organizations that are responding to the water shortages. In addition, the state's Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet was directed to help conserve water in the Big Sandy and Ohio watersheds.

Patton, who visited Martin and Lawrence counties yesterday to survey the damage, said in a statement that the shortages "are endangering the public health and safety, and could result in potential environmental damages. We want to do all we can to ensure that the people, the wildlife and the natural beauty in these affected areas are safe from harm."

AS THE WATER crisis worsened, the Martin County school superintendent said yesterday that students might be out of school for a month. Classes were ordered canceled until another source of water can be found, and environmental regulators offered Superintendent Bill Slone no estimate on when the crisis might pass.

"All I know is I've got to shut down our schools," Slone said. "We need help, or we could be looking at four to five weeks without classes."

Inez was considering putting a temporary water line into an unaffected stream.

"We're going to have to find an alternative water source," said Martin County Deputy Judge-Executive Gary Lafferty. "That's our big concern right now. We're not going to allow our people to be without water."

Bob McGlothlin, superintendent of the Big Sandy Water District, which serves an area south of Ashland, said customers have used nearly all the reserves in two storage tanks supplied by Louisa.

"When that's gone, they'll be out until Louisa can start pumping again," he said.

THE LEAK forced American Electric Power to shut down a plant that draws water from the Big Sandy north of Louisa. Spokesman Pat Hemlepp said the action was taken over the weekend to keep the fouled water from damaging the plant.

"We have sufficient reserve across our system to meet the demand for electricity," he said. "People do not need to conserve electricity."

Martin County Coal has had crews working around the clock to dredge the material from the streams. The company also sent two tractor-trailers filled with gallon jugs of water to Louisa on Sunday. In addition, tankers were hauling water to Fort Gay, W. Va., which gets its water from the Louisa plant.

The Kentucky Cabinet for Natural Resources and Environmental Protection has ordered the company, a subsidiary of A.T. Massey Coal Inc., to replace all the fish and other aquatic life killed and to rebuild roads and bridges damaged by the spill.

The state issued four citations Friday accusing Martin County Coal of "creating imminent environmental damage" by engaging in an unsafe practice when it allowed substandard water and slurry to flow from the impoundment. Since 1986 the state has fined the company nine times, for a total of $16,700, for leaks from its impoundments. The state has not yet determined what fines might be assessed as a result of the current leak.

MARTIN COUNTY'S Lafferty said residents of Coldwater and Wolf creeks face the danger of flash floods if substantial rain falls before the heavy silt is dredged from the streams. He said a half-inch or more of rain in a short time could send water into homes.

Area emergency management officials have drafted a plan to evacuate residents if that should happen. The National Weather Service predicts light rain through Thursday, however.

"We don't expect any thunderstorms with it," said meteorologist Bill Schaub. "If you took an average over Eastern Kentucky, you're looking at maybe a quarter of an inch in all, maybe less."