PIKEVILLE — Nearly 135,000 gallons of coal wastes spilled into streams in eastern Kentucky on Wednesday after a pipe ruptured at a Pike County coal processing plant, officials said.

        A plume of black water 7 to 8 miles long was responsible for a large fish kill on Long Fork and Big Creek, and forced cities along the Tug Fork of the Big Sandy River to close water intakes during the night.

        “The intakes will stay off until environmental officials tell us it's OK to turn them back on,” said Bill Davis, emergency service director for Mingo County.

        “This is bad, but it's nothing compared to the severity of the previous one.”

        The previous spill, which occurred Oct. 11, 2000, involved more than 300 million gallons of coal sludge from an impoundment owned by Martin County Coal, a subsidiary of Massey Energy.

        The sludge clogged streams and turned more than 60 miles of the Tug Fork black.

        Joe Schmidt, spokesman for the Kentucky Department of Environmental Protection, said the latest spill was the result of a pipeline break about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday at Sidney Coal Co., also a subsidiary of Massey Energy.

        The pipe carried liquid waste, primarily dust and particles washed from processed coal before shipping to power plants. The waste is a gritty, tar-like substance that also contains chemicals used in the cleaning process.

        Katherine Kinney, a spokeswoman for Massey, said the company shut down the processing plant as soon as the rupture was discovered.

        “We are still investigating, but we don't know why it broke,” she said.

        Charles Parsley, superintendent of the Kermit, W.Va., water plant, said an employee saw sludge in the river Wednesday afternoon, about 12 hours after the spill.

        The brunt of the bank-to-bank plume arrived at Kermit at nightfall after a 20-mile trip from Long Fork. Other towns downstream were being notified of the spill, but it was not immediately clear whether they'd need to turn off water intakes.

        Louisa and Fort Gay, W.Va., would be the next cities affected.

        “We're taking precautions, but this is not considered a big coal slurry spill,” Mr. Schmidt said.

        Biologists and conservation officers with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources were monitoring the spill.

        “In the Tug Fork, it probably won't kill any fish,” said Kevin Frey, a state fisheries biologist. “In Big Creek, we expect a high percentage fish kill.”

        Ms. Kinney said the spill doesn't pose a public health danger.

Chief to city: Calm down, stick to facts
Friends find remains of missing man
Mayor asks Cos, Whoopi for a hand
Too early to assess population impact
Alcohol screening today
City schools' building plan firms up
Justices consider lesbians' new names
Many object to weapon ruling
Mideast division continues here
MS society to honor man who gave $5M
Out-of-town fans say they'll miss music
Tristate A.M. Report
U.S. drug chief waves the flag
West-side transit explored
HOWARD: Some Good News
PULFER: A worried man
RADEL: Lack of respect
British Isles Festival planned
Conviction, 1 mistrial in Butler
Hospital shifts focus to Monroe
Indian Hill may thwart homes
Land for new school to be bought
Man accused of molesting teens
Proposed wireless phone tower opposed
Tax hike would help repair roads
Charter school owes Ohio
Jurors still out in Traficant case
New multistate lottery expected to rake in cash
Prison numbers slowing
Voinovich to ask Justice for advice on profiling
Coal wastes spill into waterways
Kentucky News Briefs
Public hears road plans
Teachers-to-be take exam
Underground mines in forest opposed
Water main breaks unkind to businesses on Madison