INEZ, Ky. — The rumble of diesel engines and the pounding of heavy trucks just feet from their bedroom window awoke Greg and Judy Preece around dawn a week ago Sunday.

        It's been like that most mornings since hundreds of workers spread out along Coldwater Fork to clean up millions of gallons of coal slurry that deluged the community more than a month ago.

        About 250 million gallons of water, coal particles and clay fouled 70 miles of creeks and rivers Oct. 12 when an impoundment at a Martin County Coal Corp. mine gave way on a mountaintop near Inez.

        The spill was the largest ever from a failed impoundment, and the scope of the cleanup is unprecedented — as is the inconvenience to residents.

        Coldwater Fork now looks more like an industrial site than a neighborhood.

        Everywhere you look within 4 miles of the mine, crews are working on the cleanup, which involves 300 to 400 employees of the mining company and its contractors. A big pond full of drying sludge sits within yards of a subdivision that is under construction. Larger ponds have replaced cornfields.

        Big trucks and heavy equipment are causing traffic jams on the narrow roads, which were made slick by a watery coal mixture. The rumble of heavy coal trucks shakes homes day and night. Residents have to pass a checkpoint to reach their homes.

        The smell of burning diesel permeates the air. And black dust coats cars, houses, pets and people.

        “I am disgusted,” said Virginia Pack, who laments that workers had to clear the trees that lined the creek in her front yard so they could use huge machinery to scoop slurry. “We used to have a beautiful view right here.”

        The Preeces are at wits' end. Their septic system is one of several the local health department says has been destroyed during the cleanup. Martin County Coal spent a full day hauling goo from other people's property across the Preeces' land, despite their objections.

        And Greg Preece is worried about his wife driving their son to and from school on slippery roads that officials have closed to the public because they are considered unsafe.

        Keeping their 5-year-old son, Brandon, from getting too close to the heavy equipment that works just feet from the house seems to be a full-time job as well.

        “Bulldozers, excavators, these are the type things he loves; and they're right here in his back yard. I'm afraid he's going to come out here and get hurt,” Mr. Preece said, just moments before a coal truck backed into a pickup parked nearby.

        Martin County Coal says it is trying to remove the sludge in a way that doesn't turn life on its ear along Coldwater Fork.

        The company responded to the spill quickly, saying it would pay for the cleanup. It moved some of the most affected families to apartments and hotels. It bought an all-terrain vehicle for one family that couldn't get home otherwise because the road was covered with sludge.

        Bill Marcum, a company spokesman, said Martin County Coal washes the road as often as possible, limits the loud, 10-wheel trucks to daytime work and tries to restrict nighttime operations to areas that are sparsely populated.

        While people are pleased that the company is cleaning up its mess, a massive industrial cleanup in a once-quiet community is bound to cause problems for residents. A consultant hired by the state recently estimated that the initial phases of the operation would take four to five months.

        “All I hear is, "Sue Martin County Coal,'” said Leanna Duncan, who lives a few miles from the mine and had a giant excava tor parked in her back yard last week. “I really don't care as long as they clean it up.”

        The cleanup is a massive undertaking, involving not only hundreds of workers but also more than 50 state and federal officials overseeing the operation. According to the report by the state's consultant, CMC Inc. of Nicholasville, the cleanup is expected to cost more than $16.5 million.

        The first order of business is to clean up Coldwater Fork because it is the most populated area affected by the slurry spill and because, with the creek bed full of sludge, a heavy downpour could cause flooding.

        Next the company will turn its attention to Wolf Creek, which is also fouled with the black goo. Finally, the company and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will determine whether any cleanup will be necessary in the Big Sandy River and its Tug Fork.

        Greg Powell, on-scene coordinator for the EPA, said it's unclear whether the company will have to do any cleanup on those rivers because most of the slurry that has made it that far seems to be washing downstream and doesn't appear likely to cause environmental problems.

        There also will be costs and problems beyond the cleanup.

        John Bailey, the environmentalist with the Martin County Health Department, said that slurry on the ground has damaged the lateral lines of several septic systems so badly that they will never work again.

        Mr. Marcum said the company is paying to have several septic tanks pumped out until it's determined whether the company is at fault.

        But Mr. Bailey said there is little doubt that some of the septic systems will have to be replaced — something that can't be done for more than a year because soil brought in must be allowed to settle before lateral lines can be installed.

        Many along Coldwater Fork and Wolf Creek also are concerned about what happens once the sludge is gone. Will they be able to sell their homes? Will Martin County Coal be willing to pay for lingering problems that might arise?

        Mrs. Pack said she and her husband had been thinking about retiring in a few years, selling their home and moving. She figures that dream may be gone now. “I don't think anyone would buy it now.”

        Roy Maynard, of Pilgrim, has lived all of his 62 years along Wolf Creek but he's ready to leave now. He wants Martin County Coal to buy him out, saying he just doesn't feel safe living that close to the mine.

        “They're making good money, and what they done, they done to poor people,” Mr. Maynard said.

        “Somebody here, if they go to sell their house now, they couldn't get nothing for it,” he said. “Probably if you were looking for a home to buy, you wouldn't even think about moving ... If it was me, I wouldn't even think twice. I'd think once and decide not to buy it.”

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