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= Copy/Paste of Martin County coal slurry spill for editing =

Martin County coal slurry spill
The spill, which contained arsenic and mercury, killed everything in the water. It was over five feet deep in places and covered nearby residents' yards. The spill polluted hundreds of miles (300-500 km) of the Big Sandy River and its tributaries and the Ohio River. The water supply for over 27,000 residents was contaminated, and all aquatic life in Coldwater Fork and Wolf Creek was killed.The spill was 30 times larger than the Exxon Valdez oil spill, spilling 12 e6USgal. It was one of the worst environmental disasters ever in the southeastern United States, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency. In 2001, the Environmental Protection Agency ordered Massey Energy to clean up and restore the damaged areas of Martin County (McSpirit). The EPA took measures to investigate this site, and make restoration plans (EPA governemnt). A decade later, there is still water quality issues in Martin County; people are still finding sludge and slurry in their surface waters, such as streams (Dovers). The water quality is still effective in 2018, preventing residents from using tap water in some areas (Rackstraw). The spill was exceeded in volume by the Kingston Fossil Plant coal fly ash slurry spill in 2008. Since this spill, the Mine Safety and Health Administration has made efforts to prevent this from happening in the future by implementing new slurry pond regulations (Lovan). A few of MSHA,s efforts include increasing training for staff, and requiring mining engineers to perform thorough investigations of mining impoundment areas (Lovan).