New rules regulating storage and disposal of the toxic ash generated by coal-fired power plants were approved by the Environmental Protection Agency last week, but the James River Association says they fall short of what is needed to protect the river.
Numerous sites along the James River store coal ash, a byproduct of the burning of coal. The largest producers and storers of coal ash are typically power plants, and there are several situated along the river. The new rules outline minimum requirements for entities that store coal ash.
“While it’s clear the EPA has made a step forward, we’re not quite sure if this addresses all the problems,” said Jameson Brunkow, the Lower James Riverkeeper for the James River Association.
Brunkow said the EPA failed to designate coal ash as a toxic material and that the new rules do not do enough to regulate retired coal ash storage sites but are a “positive step forward.”
The new rules require periodic inspections of storage sites and coal-burning power generators to make sure they are operating safely. Wells with equipment to monitor water quality in areas around coal ash storage sites must also be installed, and any storage sites too close to wetlands or other environmentally sensitive areas will be required to close. Other rules address day-to-day operations of coal-fired generators and what records must be kept by operators of storage sites and generators.
Bill Street, the nonprofit’s CEO said in a JRA news release the group will be monitoring the implementation of the new rules.
“Power companies in neighboring states have already committed to safely moving coal ash to dry, lined storage away from waterways.” Street said. “America’s Founding River deserves that same level of protection.”
Dominion Virginia Power actively stores coal ash at eight power stations in the state, said Dan Genest, a spokesman for the utility. Three are situated along the James River or one of its tributaries — the Chesapeake Energy Center, the Chesterfield Power Station and the Bremo Power Station in Fluvanna County.
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What is coal ash?
Coal ash is a byproduct of burning coal. It comes in several forms including a powder, a wet sludge and pellets. The contaminants contain a range of harmful materials, including mercury, cadmium and arsenic, all of which are associated with cancer and other serious health effects, according to the EPA. Coal ash is typically stored either in landfills or ponds adjacent to power plants.
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Coal ash is also stored at the Yorktown Power Station. That power plant’s two coal-fired generators are slated to be torn down in 2016. The Chesapeake Energy Center will cease operations at the end of this year, at which point work will begin to tear it down.
Dominion Virginia Power may be facing a lawsuit over coal ash storage at the Chesapeake Energy Center. The Southern Environmental Law Center on behalf of the Sierra Club announced Dec. 18 its intent to file suit against the utility alleging that “high levels of arsenic, cobalt, sulfide and other dangerous pollutants” are leeching into groundwater, the Elizabeth River and Deep Creek.
Genest said the utility moves quickly to both correct and report any issues discovered at coal ash storage sites.
Coal ash is stored in either dry landfills or ponds at the eight plants and that they are inspected on a regular basis by people who work at the plants, he said. Quarterly inspections are conducted by the environmental coordinator at each plant, and yearly inspections are done by the utility’s certified dam engineer. They are also subject to unannounced inspections by state agencies.
He said the utility has “given a first glance” at the new EPA regulations.
“We respect [the Dec. 19] ruling by the EPA in regard to coal combustion residuals,” Genest said in a statement. “Dominion intends to fully comply with the new regulations and is assessing the impact of the requirements and how best to implement them.”
JRA is a nonprofit that works as a self-described “guardian” of the James River, which it refers to as “America’s Founding River.”
JRA began the “Our River at Risk” campaign earlier this year in the wake of three incidents that affected waterways in the region: a spill of coal ash into the Dan River in West Virginia, a chemical spill into Elk River in West Virginia and the derailment in Lynchburg of a train carrying crude oil to Yorktown, which spilled about 20,000 gallons of crude oil in the James River.
That project has identified 1,100 toxic sites in the river’s watershed, including the coal ash storage sites subject to the new EPA rules.
The rules will go into effect in the next two-and-a-half years. The EPA began drafting the rules in the wake of a 2008 coal ash spill at a coal power plant in Tennessee. After equipment failed at the plant, cola ash was released into nearby rivers and lands, ultimately destroying three homes and necessitating the evacuation of a nearby neighborhood.
