Toll of Mills River fish kill unknown

MILLS RIVER -- The extent of a July fish kill in the river that provides drinking water for most residents may never be known because state officials didn't count the dead fish.

Meanwhile, a farmer growing tomatoes in a field where state officials found a fungicide in a rain puddle said he doesn't think his operation caused the contamination.

Mills River residents on July 27 reported dead trout and other fish floating belly up in the river, including 30 to 50 in the section below the N.C. 280 bridge.

Government fish and wildlife and water quality officials responded and followed the trail of dead fish upstream several miles onto the river's South Fork.

The N.C. Division of Water Quality took water samples that day from the river and a puddle in a tomato field at the corner of South Mills River Road and Old Homeplace Lane.

Test results found the water from the field contained 308 micrograms per liter (parts per million) of chlorothalonil. The fungicide, used to control diseases that threaten vegetables, fruits and other crops, is highly toxic to fish. Levels of .25 micrograms per liter can kill rainbow trout.

The Mills River is a drinking water source for 27,000 customers of the Hendersonville water system, more than 62,000 residents in Henderson County. The fungicide also was found in the city's treated water, but at levels too low to pose a health risk, state officials said.

Tests of treated water from the city water plant found chlorothalonil at 2.8 parts per billion. That is below the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's standard for infants and would not pose a health risk even for people drinking the water daily for years, state health officials said.

The Division of Water Quality is responsible for determining the cause of chemical spills and fish kills. The state can issue fines and charge those responsible for a chemical spills the cost to replace fish killed.

But Roy Davis, the state water quality engineer who investigated the Mills River fish kill, said biologists with the N.C. Wildlife Resources did not count the dead fish.

"That was an error on my part," he said. "So if there is a civil penalty now, it would be for rendering the South Mills River unsuitable for fish habitat."

Davis said he doubted his Asheville office would levy the maximum fine of $25,000 per day for the Mills River fish kill, even if determines who is responsible.

"A $25,000 penalty is reserved for very, very serious violations. This doesn't fall into this category," he said.

The fungicide is the only contaminant found in the water, leading state officials to believe it killed the fish. But the division has not yet determined who or what was responsible.

State officials are awaiting a final report from a state lab before deciding if there is enough evidence to pinpoint the cause of the fish kill, Davis said.

"We need time to digest what we know and what we have learned," he said.

He said he did not expect the findings any time soon.

Farmer speaks

The tomato field where the fungicide was found in a rain puddle is leased by farmer Baltazar "Domingo" Perez and his father, Davis said.

"It rained approximately a day and a half after Mr. Perez says he applied the fungicide," Davis said. "He said he applied it on a Tuesday and it was Wednesday night and Thursday morning we had rain."

Davis said he did not know whether the fungicide, if properly applied, could result in a fish kill under those conditions.

The spot where the farmer mixed the fungicide in a spray tanker is immediately adjacent to the stream that runs alongside the field and into the river. But state officials found no evidence of a spill into the creek. Davis said he did not test a hose used to draw water from the creek to see whether chemicals could have been siphoned back into the stream.

"I would think that is unlikely," he said.

Perez, contacted Tuesday, declined comment except to say that other Mills River farmers use the same fungicide. He said he does not believe his operation caused the fish kill.

"I know everything I did was correct," he said.

State officials are not sure how far downstream in the river the chemical killed fish. Dead fish were found five miles downstream below the N.C. 280 bridge, but could have washed down from above, Davis said.

Deanna McCraw lives next to the field where Perez grows crops on South Mills River Road. She said she and her family have been buying tomatoes from him for about three years.

As volunteers for the Environmental and Conservation Organization's VWIN water quality monitoring program, McCraw and her family have documented increased sediment in streams from a development on the mountain behind their home. She described Perez as a conscientious farmer.

"I can say in this guy's defense he has been a good neighbor," she said. "Some people trash the area. This guy, even after the crops are done, he comes out and cleans up the trash, lunch trash (from workers). That is honorable because some people who work fields don't do that."