Which Central Appalachian coal producer was responsible for a spill that dumped 306 million gallons of slurry into tributaries of the Tug Fork River?
Martin County coal slurry spill The Martin County coal slurry spill was an accident that occurred after midnight on October 11, 2000 when the bottom of a coal slurry impoundment owned by Massey Energy in Martin County, Kentucky broke into an abandoned underground mine below. The slurry came out of the mine openings, sending an estimated 306,000,000 gal of slurry down two tributaries of the Tug Fork River. By morning, Wolf Creek was oozing with the black waste; on Coldwater Fork, a 10 ft wide stream became a 100 yd expanse of thick slurry.
Powderly Creek Powderly Creek (also known as Powderly Brook) is a tributary of the Lackawanna River in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately 2.3 mi long and flows through Carbondale Township and Mayfield. The watershed of the creek has an area of 1.77 sqmi . The creek is an impaired stream. It is impacted by flow loss and is also affected by acid mine drainage. Its waters tend to be acidic. The watershed of the creek is in the Appalachian Mountain Section of the Ridge and Valley physiographic province. The main rock formations in the watershed include interbedded sedimentary rock and sandstone. Culm and silt are deposited in the creek's vicinity and it flows through a large silt basin known as the Bushwick silt basin. A major underground coal fire is burning on a hill near the creek.