Coal slurry threatens Hellbenders, other wildlife in Ohio

It apparently is hell being a Hellbender. From the recent coal slurry in Ohio, to poaching and habitat destruction everywhere else, these guys are having a rough time. While the EPA is still investigating a spill from 2008 caused by Murray Energy, the sixth spill of coal slurry in a decade occurred this past week. Slurry is the water run off from washing fresh coal. From The Columbus Dispatch:

Crews did not find any dead Eastern hellbender salamanders, an endangered species that lives in Captina Creek, Shelton said. They found and relocated three hellbenders to uncontaminated parts of the creek. But Lipps, who studies hellbenders, thinks the relocated salamanders won't survive. "Hellbenders live under giant rocks. You don't find them in the middle of the stream," he said. "The only reason (the crews) found these hellbenders is because they were dying." Murray Energy will pay cleanup costs and fines assessed for each animal that was killed, Shelton said. .... This was the sixth large spill blamed on the company in the past decade. In 2000, the company paid a $100,000 fine for a spill. In 2005, the company paid a $50,000 fine after slurry polluted 2,300 feet of the creek and killed thousands of fish. In 2008, a plume from a spill reached the Ohio River. The EPA is continuing to investigate that spill. "This is like the drunk driver that keeps hitting kids in the crosswalk, yet the state keeps giving him his license back," said Jack Shaner of the Ohio Environmental Council, an advocacy group.

Interested in what each life costs? Read after the bump to see the "value" of some of the dead animals.

The state sets prices for wild animals so it can fine offenders after species are killed in spills, fires and other incidents. Some examples:

* Minnow: 7 cents
* Crayfish: 35 cents
* Adult frog: $3.10
* Tadpole: 27 cents
* Snail: 25 cents
* Salamander or newt: $2.10
* Leech: 17 cents
* Turtle: current market value
* Endangered/threatened animals: $1,000
Source: Ohio Department of Natural Resources