Black Water Spills are of great concern due to their effect on the environment and the citizens who live in Kentucky's coalfield regions.  Spills impact water quality, harm aquatic life and damage environmental health.  Black Water is defined as water containing coal particles and can occur as a result of discharges from coal impoundments, sediment ponds, roads or other coal mining-related activities.  The aerial photograph above, taken April 14, 2005, shows black water running in the Levisa Fork toward Fishtrap in southeastern Kentucky.  The next photograph was taken the same day downstream prior to the arrival of the spill.

During the six-week period beginning in December 2003 and ending in January 2004, thirteen spills occurred, fouling miles of Kentucky’s waterways and prompting the Kentucky Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet (EPPC) to launch a preventative task force to analyze the problem.  Led by EPPC Secretary LaJuana S. Wilcher, the Black Water Task Force included leaders of environmental and coal organizations in Kentucky.  The task force members met regularly throughout 2004 and early 2005 to develop recommendations to reduce the frequency of black water discharges and minimize their severity.  The results of the year-long study can be found in the Black Water Task Force 04-22-05.

IF YOU SEE A BLACK WATER SPILL, REPORT IT IMMEDIATELY!  This increases the chances of finding the source of the spill so that appropriate enforcement action can be taken to prevent future spills.

If the spill occurs Monday - Friday between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., contact the District Field Office serving your county.  This will allow for the fastest response.

At any other time, please call the Spill Reporting Hotline at 1-800-928-2380.  The line is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and manned by the  Environmental Response Team (ERT),

You are not required to give your name, but the following information is of utmost importance:

Name of the stream
Closest highway intersection
Time you observed the spill
Nearest community
County

For example, black water was observed at 12:30 p.m. in Tagus Creek near the intersection of Highways 80 and 421 in Jameson County, Kentucky.  It is about 3 miles south of the town of Red Rock.

Visit the Black Water Data page to view 2008 statistics as well as data for 2003 - 2007.