UPDATE from 5pm Newscast
MARTIN COUNTY, Ky. (WSAZ) -- A leaky valve -- that's what coal company officials say caused the latest slurry spill that's blackened the waters of Martin County.

While this spill is considered relatively mild, folks who live in this area can't help but remember a far more severe spill 10 years ago that drenched the area in a thick, black sludge.

"It was like a lake here," Printis Tiller said. "It was black like coal. It was slurry; it was bad."

Tiller is having flashbacks. While his yard looks perfectly fine now, 10 years ago, it was covered in a thick, black coal sludge. It's a nightmare he hoped to forget.

"They didn't tell us the potential for danger," Tiller said.

And now, there's yet another spill. Ten years later, Tiller awakes to a familiar sight here on Coldwater Creek in Martin County.

"They say they're a good neighbor, but what I've seen the last few years, I wonder," Tiller said.

Tiller is referring to Martin County Coal -- the same company responsible for the slurry pond break last time. This time it's a far smaller problem.

"What caused this is a leaky valve," said Lee Gauze, director of Martin County Emergency Management Services.

The leak was discovered Monday afternoon, but clean-up using equipment like these filters, is already well underway.

"The chemicals are making the slurry settle to the bottom, and that's what it’s supposed to do to clear up the creek," Gauze said.

Now, a private contractor is vacuuming the creek bottom -- trying to eliminate as much of the slurry sediment as possible.

The environmental impact is still unknown, but for Martin County's emergency management director, who also lives along the creek, this spill is still a little disturbing.

"It's always upsetting when you see streams with blackwater in them, but nothing's fail proof," Gauze said. "As long as they’re cleaning it up, it’s no problem."

But, it's not that simple for Tiller.

"You want safety and to lay down at night and feel safe," he said. "You want to wake up the next morning and know you’re not worse off."

Workers with the Kentucky Division of Water and Division of Mines and Minerals are working the scene. They say they're still trying to determine how much of Coldwater Creek was affected and how the environment will be impacted.

The Department of Natural Resources tells us this spill did not come from the same sediment pond that caused that spill in 2000.

Dispatchers tell WSAZ.com that the spill was reported between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. Tuesday.

They say Martin County Coal contacted the Kentucky Environmental Protection Agency to say there was a slurry spill. It’s not known how much spilled.

Martin County EMS Director, Lee Gauze say the company told them the spill originated in a pipe leading to a sediment pond.

K.C. Fitch with Martin County EMS tells WSAZ.com that the spill is minor. Fitch says the spill has turned the creek water black, but did not cause a significant rise in the water levels.

He says crews are now on the scene working to contain the spill.

Keep clicking on WSAZ.com for updated information.