Unusually large 42 inch pipe with coating exposed to extensive weathering

SOURCE ~ WV DEP COMPLAINT # 266 Indian Creek 11-24-23

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. I appreciate the conversation with Jason Liddle yesterday afternoon and the explanation that MVP working in the stream is not contrary to the MVP Construction plan to open cut the stream, but that the release of sediment downstream is a saturation that may not be allowable. I look forward to learning more about this after a site visit by WV DEP..

>>> This was the original email sent yesterday, 11-24-23:

TO WV DEP and Others Whom It May Concern:

I have a special attachment to this particular place in Indian Creek because it is where I was baptized in the early 80′s and to see an excavator sitting at the exact spot where that occurred was somewhat sacrilegious to me.

All season plunges into Indian Creek are not uncommon

Maury Johnson,
3227 Ellison Ridge,
Greenville, WV 24945

Will you let this happen (again & again)?

It’s Not Water Under the Bridge

Editorial, Morgantown Dominion Post, February 27, 2015

You better believe history has a way of repeating itself. Take for instance our state leaders, and agencies, long history of allowing industry to have its way with our natural resources.

Never mind the collateral damage done to our environment, especially our water resources. At least it was that way until March 8, 2014, or so we thought.

That was the date when the state Legislature unanimously approved Senate Bill 373 in response to a massive chemical spill into the Elk River. That spill contaminated the water supply of 300,000 state residents in a nine-county region resulting in a tap water ban for nearly a week. But soon after that legislation was passed, some warned that protecting our water does not end with passing a bill.

Industry never sleeps and would keep the pressure on government through its well-financed lobby. As one WVU law professor put it at the time, “While you’re not paying attention, they are.” Guess what? We have not been paying attention.

This week the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously advanced legislation to the Senate floor that basically guts SB 373. Though the new legislation — Senate Bill 423 — still requires all above-ground storage tanks to be registered with the state, it drops practically all regulation for about 36,000 of those 48,000 tanks.

The new bill purportedly targets tanks in zones of critical concern and a newly defined zone of peripheral concern to public water intakes, rather than protecting groundwater in general.

What that means is, if you rely on a private groundwater well or other such water supply you had better hope there are no above-ground storage tanks nearby. It also drastically reshapes how many industries need to apply for permits, allowing them to opt out of the separate permit process for their storage tanks if they already fall under some other regulatory tool.

Some have estimated that as a result of this provision, fewer than 100 tanks will be subject to the regular strict inspections.

The state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) secretary was quick to point out recently that the bill the governor sought last year — SB 417 — was not as stringent as the one lawmakers ultimately passed. That was the legislation whose opening paragraphs talked about protecting industry, rather than our water resources. It was the one that died a quiet death once the public got a look at it and started to make some noise.

Something tells us the public needs to start making some more noise again — at SB 423. And if they don’t hear you now, you can always get their attention at the ballot box on November 8, 2016.

WVU CAC March 24 - 28

MFA exhibition focusing on Deckers Creek Watershed open March 24-28

MORGANTOWN, W.Va.– WVU Master of Fine Arts candidate Forrest Conroy will present his MFA thesis exhibition, focusing on the Deckers Creek Watershed, at the Creative Arts Center during March 24-28.

Titled “Watershed: A Call to Action,” the graphic design project will be on view in the Paul Mesaros Gallery. An opening reception for the exhibition will be held Thursday, March 27 at 6 p.m. All events are free and open to the public.

The goal of Conroy’s exhibition is to educate visitors and challenge people to see how their personal actions are connected to the health of their environment. The cornerstone project of his thesis work is CreekDog, a web application that allows citizens to report and track serious pollution issues throughout the Deckers Creek Watershed.

Industries that used the creek as a source of water power included a forge and iron furnace, grist mills, saw mills, and a pottery and a paper mill. Rapid industrialization in the first half of the 20th century took a heavy toll on the once-pristine creek, as water quality declined and aquatic life diminished. Recreational fishing and boating on the creek eventually ceased after acid mine runoff and open sewage fouled the water.

Friends of Deckers Creek (FODC), a community non-profit watershed association, organized in 1995 to start clean-ups of illegal dumps and to monitor water quality. In 1998, the state Department of Environmental Protection and federal Natural Resources Conservation Service committed $10 million to clean up acid mine drainage in the Deckers Creek Watershed, an effort that continues to be guided by FODC.

Conroy’s project was developed in partnership with Friends of Deckers Creek and is based on their Watershed Bill of Rights Program that calls citizens to take action. CreekDog takes this one step further by providing a tool that facilitates action between citizens and the public agencies responsible for addressing these issues.

“It is important that we find ways to educate and empower citizens to take an active role in protecting their environment and bettering their communities,” Conroy said. “The story of Deckers Creek is one of both immense beauty and complex environmental issues. People want to help and do the right thing. Many people either don’t know there’s a problem, or, if they do, don’t know how to solve it—but everyone plays a part. I hope that this exhibition helps to create an opportunity for people to make a difference.”

The CreekDog project is being funded, in part, by a grant from the Appalachian stewardship foundation. The Mesaros Galleries are open Monday through Saturday, from noon to 9:30 p.m. For more information on the event, contact Robert Bridges, curator of the Mesaros Galleries at 304-293-2312.