Aftermath Of The Spill

In the aftermath of June 30th's train wreck and sodium hydroxide chemical spill, I am left mind-boggled with the shear volume of destruction. As a result of the spill, fish have been killed on thirty-five miles of stream. Some of the best trout and bass fishing in the state has been eliminated as a result of this accident. It is appalling.

This past week three teams of Fish Commission biologists sampled the streams affected by the pollution event by electro shocking the streams. In the words of local Waterways Conservation Officer Bill Crisp, they found no surprises. Where eyewitnesses noted fish kills, fish populations were severely affected by the pollution. The farther upstream and closer to the spill site, the more concentrated the chemical and the less likely fish and other aquatic organisms were to survive the pollution.

Due to the nature of the prosecution of those responsible for this disaster, official results can't be released to Cameron County sportsmen until after Norfolk Southern pays their fines. However, one thing is for sure, fish populations in the most popular fishing waters in Cameron County have been more or less eliminated.

Many have asked me how many fish I think were killed in the pollution event. The truth is that I'm no expert. I can't even fathom the number of fish killed. Along the Driftwood Branch alone there must have been millions. This stream was highly productive. When you consider all of the small minnow species and numerous small game fish fry, along with the larger game fish that are highly visible, the numbers are just incredible.

The Fish Commission will establish a fish kill estimate by comparing the results of this week's surveying with results of previous surveys collected along these streams when they were healthy. I would imagine that any numbers they determine will be on the conservative end of the spectrum.

The Fish Commission determines its fines for pollution events like this based on the fish kill. Small fish are worth a certain amount, larger fish more, and big fish are worth the top dollar amount. The Department of Environmental Protection will also issue separate fines for this pollution.

However, not just fish were killed by this pollution. Entire aquatic biological communities were wiped out, especially farther upstream close to the spill site. The farther downstream one travels, the lower the pH was and the more that survived the pollution. For example, crayfish are rather tolerant of pollution. In the Driftwood Branch in the days following the pollution fish kill there were numerous crayfish out scavenging on dead fish. These crayfish and other pollution tolerant organisms were able to survive the pollution on the lower sections of the streams affected by the sodium hydroxide.

It will likely be years before decent mayfly hatches return to some portions of the affected streams. It really is anyone's guess how long it will take these streams to fully recover.

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As a sportsmen I find myself overwhelmed by what has happened. I find myself looking at the Driftwood Branch and almost doubting the truth of what occurred. With flows being up, the water looks perfect for trout fishing. It's not often that we have conditions like this in July.

But I walked the stream during and after the pollution traveled through. I saw the carnage. Those images of dead and dying fish will always fill my head. Even though the water quality and conditions are perfect right now, if I were to fish wetflies along my favorite stretch of stream, as I desire, I know there are no fish in the stream. They are all dead, and that is an undeniable fact.

In many ways I feel helpless. The pollution happened, the fish and aquatic life died, and now we have to live with the consequences of Norfolk Southern's errors as we wait for the stream to be repopulated.

The truth is that as sportsmen there are many things we should be doing, many things for which it is our duty to do.

As citizens and sportsmen who care about the Sinnemahoning Creek Watershed it is our duty to call our state politicians and heads of agency staff and let them know what happened and how it will hurt our economy. We need to let them know that a portion of the fines from this disaster need to stay in Cameron County to improve waters within the Driftwood Branch such as helping clean up Sterling Run of its acid mine drainage.

Currently some of these individuals seem to be apathetic towards what has happened. They think that it is no big deal. It is our duty to let them know the truth, that it is a big deal, that they need to do something about it, and that a good portion of the fine money needs to stay in Cameron County to mitigate the actions of Norfolk Southern.

State Representative Martin Causer can be contacted at by writing to 78 Main Street, 1st Floor, Bradford, PA 16701 or by telephone at (814) 3624400. State Senator Joseph Scarnati can be contacted at 315 Second Avenue, 2nd Floor, Warren, PA 16365 or via telephone at (717) 7877084.

Those who witnessed the pollution and devastation need to objectively write down what they saw and send it to local Fish Commission field officers. These eyewitness accounts are keystone in the case against Norfolk Southern. There should be a letter to the editor in this week's newspaper from WCO Bill Crisp with more details on where to report such observations.