Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County pays fine for fish kill in Dunbar Creek
The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County has agreed to pay a $5,000 fine for its role in an incident last month that killed about 1,500 fish in Dunbar Creek, Fayette County.
A water line break on Sept. 11 near Connellsville triggered the incident.
The authority sells water to more than 122,000 customers in Westmoreland, Allegheny, Armstrong, Fayette and Indiana counties. It operates three water treatment plants, including one in Fayette County, along the Youghiogheny River.
“You’re saying clean water ran into the creek and killed fish?” asked authority board member Jerry DeFabo.
The Pennsylvania Fish and Board Commission said water discharged from the authority’s service line flowed into the creek and caused the death of small minnows. The creek was stocked in the spring with trout and is scheduled to be restocked this month, according to the commission’s website.
Municipal Authority solicitor Scott Avolio said the fine was based on the number of small fish killed as a result of the water line break.
Avolio said chloramine, a chemical used to disinfect and remove biological substances from treated drinking water shipped to customers, contaminated and killed the fish. The disinfecting chemical is harmless to humans but cannot be processed by fish, he said.
Rich Cholodofsky is a TribLive reporter covering Westmoreland County government, politics and courts. He can be reached at rcholodofsky@triblive.com.
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