The History of the Raccoon Creek Tributary

By Tamiya Thomas, Environmental Steward and PMSC AmeriCorps Member at Three Rivers Waterkeeper

​Raccoon Creek Watershed

As it rises in Washington County and drains north into the Ohio River from Beaver County, the Lenni Lenape granted the Algonquian name “aroughcoune”1 or Nachenum-hanne (“raccoon stream”) to what is known today as the Raccoon Creek tributary2. The Lenni Lenape relocated t0 western Pennsylvania as European settlers expanded across the east3, and lived among other tribes like the Shawnee “Woodland Tribe”. By the start of the 1700s, the Shawnee originally lived in the northeast including the Pennsylvania region and banks of the Ohio River. In the late 1700s, the Shawnee migrated westward to escape colonialism, and by 1832, the government removed the remaining tribe from the Ohio River Valley into Kansas4.
Raccoon Creek lives in the Raccoon Creek Watershed, a network of creeks spanning 184 miles (including the west sector of Allegheny County)5. Ten miles from Pittsburgh, the watershed is witness to its industry boom in the 1700s and to its recreation restoration in the 1930s. Today, 32,000 people call the watershed and its valleys and woods home. The Raccoon Creek Watershed’s natural resources provide outdoor recreation for residents and visitors6. The natural resources lying beneath its surface also provide industries the opportunity to continue legacy production, discharge, and pollution in the same area.
Industrial Development & ChangesThe Raccoon Creek Watershed lives in subbasin 20D within the Upper Ohio River. The lower two-thirds of subbasin 20D are characterized by round hills with narrow valleys and deep rivers. “Horizontal sequences of sandstone, shale, limestone, and coal from the Pennsylvanian Period” make up its rock layers7. These resources attracted farming and historical mining, and in 1781, Washington County encountered its earliest coal mining operations. The direct access to high quality coal led to the watershed’s restructuring as Pittsburgh hit its industrial boom. By 1840, railroads, locks, and dams were constructed to transport coal to Pittsburgh’s market. From 1880 to 1923, Washington County coal production reached a record high of 24.5 million tons8. The heavy industrial impact and over-used agricultural lands left Raccoon Creek land deforested and frail3.
To reform the area to its natural state, the Recreational Demonstration Areas (RDA) selected Raccoon Creek as one of five conservation works in Pennsylvania. President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal and the federal Emergency Conservation Work Act transformed the non-sustainable land mass area into Raccoon Creek State Park. The park, 25 miles from Pittsburgh, offered outdoor recreation for large urban populations and offered economic opportunities for young men joining the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Between 1935 and 1941, the CCC and Works Progress Administration created picnic areas, roads and trails, the Upper Lake dam, quarries, and reforestation nurseries. In September 1945, the National Park Service transferred the park over to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania3.
    In tandem with the reformation, the U.S. Government purchased 305 acres of land in Potter Township to create a hidden high octane fuel depot, known as Tank Farm, between 1941 and 1942. The Department of Defense buried six 1.74 million-gallon fuel tanks and camouflaged the site as a farm to prevent air bombing9. The site pumped fuel through eight-mile underground pipes down to the Ohio River for transportation10 to assist in World War II. Eighteen years post-World War II, St. Joseph Lead Company acquired the land in 19639. The 1960’s marked a decrease in coal production overall, and in 1967, the total production accounted for less than 100,000 tons.  While coal production significantly slowed down, commercial development pressures in the watershed grew rapidly with the commissioned residential infrastructures, Pittsburgh International Airport, and PA Turnpike Commission’s Southern Beltway linking I-79 to the airport. The shallow and deep wells leftover from the 19th century altered the watershed’s characteristics. Abandoned mine drainage, coal refuse, and industrial waste sites are the source of water quality and environmental issues for Raccoon Creek8.
Modern Day Raccoon CreekFracking    Currently, deep shale drilling is a popular industry method to extract oil and gas. The unconventional drilling method requires hydraulic fracturing (the horizontal “pulverizing of carbon-rich shales with water, sand, and chemicals”) to withdraw large volumes of resources. While hydraulic fracturing existed since the 1940’s, modern-day fracking is increasingly more water-intensive as it requires millions of gallons of water. According to the PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), there are 698 fracking wells in the Raccoon Creek Watershed. 214 of driller-reported wells use nearly 14.2 gallons of water per well. Fracking requires intense water pressure to fracture rock formations and extract oil and gas. Out of the 693 DEP published well locations, half are active (35% unconventional and 15% conventional), and the other half are not drilled (21%), abandoned or orphaned (20%), or designated as plugged wells (10%). The abandoned (not permanently plugged) or orphaned (no responsible operator on file) wells emit methane into the air and contaminate the soil and waterways with a mix of brine and oil. Fracking companies in the watershed include: Chevron, Range Resources, MPLX (Harmon Creek Gas Plant), the Revolution Gas Plant, and the Revolution Processing Facility.

 Pipelines, old and new, run across the watershed to gather, transmist, and distribute oil and gas. Shell’s Falcon Pipeline transfers 107,000 fracked ethane barrels per day to the cracker plant in Potter Township; a 250 ft pipeline right-a-way runs from Clearview Road near Ambridge Reservoir5; and the Energy Transfer Revolution Pipeline transfers natural gas through its 40.5 mile pipeline to processing facilities in Allegheny, Beaver, and Washington Counties11. A landslide caused the pipeline’s “massive explosion and discolored the hillside near Ivy Lane in Center Township, Beaver County” seven days after the pipeline entered service. Energy Transfer’s pipeline owner illegally destroyed 23 streams and 1,900 feet stream channel loss with soil filling. In addition to nine environmental crimes and a $30 million fine, Energy Transfer was ordered to restore dozens of streams that may have contributed to the landslide5.(Image Courtesy of FracTracker Alliance5: shows discoloration of the hillside near Ivy Lane in Center Township, Beaver County)

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Recreation
​Today, Raccoon Creek State Park is frequently visited for recreational activities. Visitors come to swim, boat, fish, and explore the park’s 7,572 acres from the Traverse Creek tributary to Raccoon Creek sitting on its eastern edge. The Hillman State Park also offers “an extensive trail network for hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding, and field for flying remote control aircraft” within the watershed. Additionally, the park operates as a hunting ground (Game Land #432) by the Pennsylvania Game Commission. Two other Raccoon Creek watershed game lands include State Game Land #117 (south of Hillman State Park) and 411-acre Game Land #189 (north of Raccoon Creek State Park). In the northernmost area of Raccoon Creek, the Ohio River Council manages the Upper Ohio River Water Trail, and between early spring and summer, the creek can be navigated by canoe 5.
(Image courtesy of Jess Friss, Three Rivers Waterkeeper)

Stewardship    
​The Independence Conservancy, Three Rivers Waterkeeper (3RWK), Hollow Oak Land Trust are a part of the many organizations and volunteers protecting and restoring Raccoon Creek Watershed. The three non-profit organizations work with community partners to protect the health and beauty of Southwestern Pennsylvania’s water, land, and air. Independence Conservancy stewards the Raccoon Creek Watershed through education, conservation, and community partnerships12. The organization maintains the parking, trails, and accessibility to Raccoon Creek next to the Tank Farm Recreational Area and its water trail5. Following Horsehead Industries dedicating the tank farm to public recreation (2006), the Independence Conservancy acquired upstream and downstream land parcels for public access in 2009. The Department of Defense removed five of the six underground tanks in 2012, and Potter Township and the Conservancy gave a new life and purpose to the adjoining land areas. “With public grants, private donations, and plenty of volunteer muscle, the Conservancy has already restored hundreds of feet of collapsing creek bank, built a canoe/kayak launch, cleaned up tons of debris, planted thousands of trees, and created a new wetland brimming with wildlife”.10
Three Rivers Waterkeeper    Styropek and Shell Polymers Monica (located on the Ohio River on either side of the Raccoon Creek tributary) are two major plastic production sources. On monthly nurdle patrols along the Ohio River next to Raccoon Creek, Three Rivers Waterkeeper and Mountain Watershed Association observed an excess of nurdles within the Ohio River. The two organizations traced the nurdles back to Styropek's main outfall (002) along Raccoon Creek, a major tributary to the Ohio River. This alleged illegal discharge of solid materials out of an outfall into a waterway was reported to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. In December of 2022, the PA DEP did a visual inspection at several of Styropek's outfalls and identified nurdles present near Outfall 002. The presence of these nurdles in the waterways was continued to be seen during the monthly nurdle patrols along the Ohio River and along Raccoon Creek. On December 5, 2023, PennEnvironment and Three Rivers Waterkeeper filed a federal lawsuit against BVPV Styrenics LLC and its parent company, Styropek USA, Inc. 3RWK is currently in negotiations, and hopes to see an outcome soon where Styropek is held accountable for their alleged plastic pollution13.
    In August 2023, 3RWK discovered Befesa Zinc US Inc.’s outfall 006 regularly violated permit discharge limits. Outfall 006 is associated with an uncovered landfill left over from a historic zinc smelter plant, and it flows into Raccoon Creek about less than a mile from the Ohio River. The outfall drains surface water with regular violations of selenium, manganese, and zinc from the old zinc plant. There have been 17 exceedances that include total selenium, total suspended solids (TSS), and total residual chlorine (TRC). From 3RWK’s YSI (our water quality measurement instrument) and laboratory samples, they discovered the results range from extreme acidic and basic pH levels.

Under American Zinc Recycling, the company received monthly fines until June 2020. Since Befesa’s ownership, the company currently operates under an expired permit and administrative extension that prevents further fines from the DEP. The violations continued without any remediation actions being taken. 3RWK worried that if the site closed soon, the pollution issues would continue and remain unaddressed. On January 22nd, 2024, the DEP conducted a site visit in response to 3RWK’s complaints. DEP’s inspection report acknowledged the discharge monitoring report (eDMR) violations and stated that the site visit included a discussion with the personnel present: Eric Hunsberger, Director Environmental Affairs, Befesa Zinc US Inc.; Bob Orchowski, Environmental Consultant, The Hillcrest Group, Joe Pezze, Environmental Consultant, The Hillcrest Group; Stacey Greenwald, Clean Water Operations Group Manager, PADEP, Shawn Bell, WQS, PADEP. The discussion included possible compliance options, the status of the landfill closure, and a request for Center Township Municipal Authority to determine the possibility of sending discharge to the sewage treatment plant.
What’s Next for Turtle CreekConservation groups and volunteers will continue to steward and protect the watershed. The Independence Conservancy partners with Potter Township to create better accessibility to Rocky Bend Nature Preserve and its natural attractions.10 Three Rivers Waterkeeper, in partnership with the Mountain Watershed Association14, will continue to conduct regular nurdle patrols and water quality monitoring of the Ohio River in Beaver County. 3RWK will update the community when they conclude their negotiations with Styropek USA, Inc. and DEP’s solution recommendation for Befesa Zinc US Inc.Footnotes

1. https://bcpahistory.org/beavercounty/BeaverCountyTopical/NativeAmerican/IndianNamesinBCMA97/IndianNamesinBCMA97.html
   
2. https://archive.org/details/indianvillagespl0000drge/page/166/mode/2up?q=raccoon
   
3. https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dcnr/recreation/where-to-go/state-parks/find-a-park/raccoon-creek-state-park/history.html
   
4. https://www.astribe.com/about-us
   
5. https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/6e29a777eea34fc89cc550e5179ccfcb
   
6. https://www.independenceconservancy.org/component/content/article/2-uncategorised/34-raccoon-creek-watershed-association
   
7. https://spcwater.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/RaccoonCreek_WRAS_090103.pdf
   
8. https://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/watermgt/wqp/wqstandards/tmdl/RaccoonCreek_FINAL_TMDL.pdf
   
9. https://pottertwp-pa.gov/industrial-history/
   
10. https://pottertwp-pa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Introducing-Rocky-Bend-8-4-19.pdf
    
11. https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dep/programs-and-services/integration/pennsylvania-pipeline-portal/revolution-pipeline.html
    
12. https://independenceconservancy.org/
    
13. https://www.threeriverswaterkeeper.org/current-litigation.html
    
14. https://mtwatershed.com/nurdle-patrol/