The spill , which contained arsenic and mercury , killed everything in the water . It was over five feet deep in places and covered nearby residents ' yards . The spill polluted hundreds of miles ( ) of the Big Sandy River and its tributaries and the Ohio River . The water supply for over 27,000 residents was contaminated , and all aquatic life in Coldwater Fork and Wolf Creek was killed . The spill was 30 times larger than the Exxon Valdez oil spill , spilling . It was one of the worst environmental disasters ever in the southeastern United States , according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) . In 2001 , the EPA ordered Massey Energy to clean up and restore the damaged areas of Martin County . The EPA took measures to investigate this site , and make restoration plans . A decade later , there are still water quality issues in Martin County ; people are still finding sludge and slurry in their surface waters , such as streams . The water quality is still effective in 2018 , preventing residents from using tap water in some areas . The spill was exceeded in volume by the Kingston Fossil Plant coal fly ash slurry spill in 2008 . Since this spill , the Mine Safety and Health Administration has made efforts to prevent this from happening in the future by implementing new slurry pond regulations . A few of MSHA 's efforts include increasing training for staff , and requiring mining engineers to perform thorough investigations of mining impoundment areas
Exxon Valdez oil spill
Exxon Valdez oil spill
Martin County coal slurry spill