Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, April 16, 1991                   TAG: 9104160284
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-2   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS/ NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: NEWBERN                                LENGTH: Short

LARGE FISH KILL NEAR CLAYTOR LAKE DRAWS STATE, COUNTY INVESTIGATORS

The white underbellies of hundreds of dead baitfish floated on the surface of the creek in the vicinity of Rock House Marina off Old Virginia 100. It was unclear Monday what had killed the fish.

Stan Crigger, emergency services coordinator for Pulaski County, said investigators for the Water Control Board told him the kill extended at least from the boat dock to Claytor Lake. Crigger was trying to determine Monday how far upstream toward Pulaski the kill might stretch.

Kip Foster, an official with the water board office in Roanoke, said investigators were taking samples of fish and lake water in an effort to determine the cause of the kill.

A resident in the area, who asked that his name not be used, said he first noticed the dead fish on Sunday. At that time, he said, there was a strong smell of gasoline around the water.

The resident said thousands of dead fish could be seen in the water before the wind and water skiers scattered them Monday afternoon. However, people were still catching fish from the creek, he said.

Crigger said the county was not aware of any petroleum spill that would cause a large fish kill.

The Rock House Marina is more than five miles downstream from Pulaski.

Peak Creek has been a source of controversy over the past few months because of metal pollution from the old Allied Chemical industrial site in Pulaski. The current owners of the property took action last summer to correct the problem.