Environmental Group Warns of Coal Ash Contamination
Alabama Power recently released coal ash inundation maps. They’re part of emergency action plans required by the Environmental Protection Agency. The maps are meant to show areas that would be affected if dams around coal-ash storage ponds were to breach. The utility says that’s never happened and there’s no imminent danger. But a local environmental group disagrees.
When coal is burned to make electricity, gases go into the air, but the solid stuff left over is coal ash. It’s pretty toxic: it contains substances like arsenic, lead, and mercury. Alabama Power has accumulated tons of coal ash, mixed it with water, and pumped it into a half-dozen unlined ponds or “impoundments” across the state.
An example of a coal-ash inundation map. This one is for Alabama Power’s Greene County plant.
Nelson Brooke of Black Warrior Riverkeeper worries any breach of those earthen dams “would be devastating because there’s so much volume stored behind the dam. This is where the power company has pumped their waste for decades.”
Three of the ponds border the Black Warrior River or main tributaries. Brooke says even without a breach, millions of gallons of pollution are going into state waterways every day. Alabama Power says it’s moving away from using the ponds, but plans to cover and leave the current ones. That’s not enough for Brooke. He wants the utility to remove the waste from unlined lagoons near rivers, and in general:
“If we find a problem that’s bad enough, and we can’t get the perpetrator or the regulatory agencies – state or federal – to enforce existing law, then we will resort to taking it to federal court.”
An Alabama Power spokesman emailed a statement calling Black Warrior Riverkeeper’s claims “misleading and inflammatory.” The statement goes on to say, “Riverkeeper implies there is some imminent danger to the river … There is not … The company has never had an impoundment failure.”
But Brooke says if a breach happened during a major downpour, let alone a storm as devastating as the one that recently inundated parts of Texas and other areas on the Gulf Coast, the contamination could be catastrophic.
Black Warrior Riverkeeper
A lone fisherman on the Mulberry Fork of the Black Warrior River, just below Rattlesnake Dam, which is holding back tons of coal ash.
Here is more of the emailed statement from Alabama Power spokesman Michael Sznajderman:
“The Riverkeeper news release is misleading and inflammatory on several levels:
“Riverkeeper implies there is some imminent danger to the river from our ash facility. There is not. All our ash impoundments are regularly inspected and have received the highest rating from EPA for continued safe and reliable operation. We have operated these facilities safely for decades and have never had an impoundment failure. Each impoundment is inspected thoroughly on an annual basis by qualified Southern Company inspectors with more frequent inspections (multiple times weekly) by plant personnel.
“Alabama Power announced in 2015 that, because of increasing federal regulations, the company planned to eventually close its six ash ponds. Based on the most recent data and analysis, the company has determined that the best, safest and most cost-effective course is to close, consolidate and cap these six facilities in-place at our generating facilities … Details about the specific closure plans at each facility are still being developed and could change over time. The safety and security of our customers and the community is our highest priority.”
Foreign nationals propel U.S. science. Visa limits under Trump could change that
The incoming Trump administration is likely to crack down on the H-1B visas used by tech companies and research institutions to hire top talent from other countries.
The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on Thursday for Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, for alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip.
Are you a caregiver for an adult? How has it changed you?
Many who care for family members and loved ones at home say it can be very stressful but also rich in meaning. Share your story and insights.
MF DOOM’s music was his legend. The man himself was the myth
The late rapper's 2004 album MM..FOOD may never have the classic status of its sister release, Madvillainy. But 20 years later, it's the one to play if you want to hear the essence of his artistry.
Here’s how Trump and the GOP may try to weaken Obamacare
Republican control of the White House and Congress sets the stage for potentially seismic changes including curtailing Medicaid, weakening patient protections, and increasing premium costs for millions.
Richer countries are starting to pay poorer ones for climate change damages
With climate-related disasters getting more extreme, richer countries are piloting ways to compensate developing nations, since they bear the least responsibility for causing climate change.
