FISH CREEK, W.Va. — Inspectors with the state Department of Environmental Protection said Friday evening there was no evidence of instability at a Marshall County coal slurry impoundment after some blackwater overflowed into a creek a few hours earlier.
The blackwater came from the Marshall County Mine impoundment, the former McElroy Mine impoundment, owned by Murray Energy. The blackwater spilled into Fish Creek, a tributary of the Ohio River but had stopped by Friday evening, the DEP said.
“The blackwater is believed to be a result of recent rainfall that raised the elevation in the impoundment. There are no indications of embankment instability but Fish Creek Road has been closed as a precaution,” a statement from the DEP said.
The company is cooperating with the investigation and Marshall County emergency authorities have been placed on alert.
As of Friday evening the DEP said, “So far, the flow rate has been reduced by more than half and the blackwater is no longer going into the creek. It’s being collected at the bottom of the hill, and vacuumed into sump trucks to be taken to containment structures.”