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Residents near Duke ash dumps told not to
drink well water
Read more at http://www.wral.com/residents- near - duke -ash- dumps - told - not -to- drink -well-
water/ 14596368/ #W 8P4S 8 stvaUjDu8H.99
By MICHAEL BIESECKER, Associated Press
RALEIGH, N.C. — State officials are advising an undisclosed number of residents near Duke Energy coal
ash dumps not to drink or cook with water from their wells after tests showed contamination with toxic heavy
metals, according to letters obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday.
A law passed after last year's spill into the Dan River required the North Carolina Department of Environment
and Natural Resources to sample wells within 1,000 feet of Duke's 32 coal ash dumps across the state.
Officials at the state agency have refused to disclose how many families are affected statewide.
The AP obtained letters sent to 19 homes and a church near Buck Steam Station in Salisbury advising people
not to consume their well water. Several of the letters cited high levels of vanadium, a naturally occurring
element found in coal ash classified as hazardous by federal health officials.
Duke Energy also received a letter from the state citing elevated levels of antimony and manganese in water
collected from a drinking well that serves the Buck plant.
Duke spokeswoman Erin Culbert said the chemicals could be naturally occurring in the soil.
"Based on the state's test results we've reviewed thus far, we have no indication that Duke Energy plant
operations have influenced neighbors' well water," Culbert said.
The company has three large ash dumps located at Buck covering 134 acres and containing more than 5
million tons of coal ash. The ash is a byproduct of burning coal to generate electricity. It contains numerous
toxic metals, including mercury, lead and arsenic.
Statewide, Duke stores more than 150 million tons of coal ash in 32 dumps at 14 power plants. The state Coal
Ash Management Act passed in the wake of the Dan River spill requires the company to move or cap all of its
dumps by 2029.
Follow Biesecker at http: //Twitter.com/mbieseck
Read more at http://www.wral.com/residents- near -duke- ash - dumps -told- not -to- drink -well-
water/ 14596368/ #W8P4S 8 stvaUjDu8H.99
1311JURFS 18 CC,
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2015
wC udK free nangs over Market Street near Cinema Drive in 2013. The Department of
;n took down the tree in March. Photo by Mike Spencer
t
'
e R
�
i ,- t]L U1191
=ms to help protect arboreal heritage
3y Gareth McGrath historic buildings when designing projects.
hMc,Gratn astarNewsonane.f _ This was definitely prompted by what hap-
WILMINGTON I
-conic Sonic live oak along Mar -
f Street near Kerr Avenue might
none, but its legacy could live on
a bill working its way through the
}neral Assembly in Raleigh.
Susi Hamilton, D -New Hanover,
ed iegislation that would require
's to consider the impacts of their
'-es that have received a special
by a city or county due, to their
pened to the trees on Market Street," Hamil-
ton said.
Wilmington City Councilwoman Laura
Padget, who worked with Hamilton on the
bill, said the idea is to let state officials know
what's there before they start putting pen to
paper.
"If those important trees are in the plans
from the get -go, they generally can be worked
around," she said. "But once the road is de-
signed, you're talking hundreds of thousands
PLEASANT
g ('/58-
iWAY FORECAST, 66
State
issues
Those near Duke's
ash dumps told not
to drink the water
By Michael Biesecker
lssoaated Press
RALEIGH I North Carolina officials are
advising dozens of residents near Duke
Energy coal ash dumps not to drink or cook
with water from their wells after tests
showed contamination with toxic heavy
metals.
The state Department of Environment
and Natural Resources said Tuesday that
tests of 87 private wells near eight Duke
plants — including the Sutton Plant near
Wilmington— showed results that failed to
meet state groundwater standards.
A state law passed after last year's mas-
sive spill into the Dan River required wells
within 1,000 feet of Duke's 32 coal ash .
bumps across the state to be tested. About
145 private wells have been sampled since
October.
Tom Reeder, the assistant secretary
overseeing water quality for the state, said
Duke will be required to provide the af-
fected residents with an alternative water
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................. ............................... .... 1
PART ONE
YEARS OF NEGLECT AND A CHANCE FOR CHANGE ..........................3
Introduction....................................... ...............................
3
1. The Toxic Legacy of Coal Plant Water Pollution ...... ...............................
4
How Coal Plant Water Pollution Affects Us ........ ...............................
4
Why Is Coal Plant Water Pollution So Toxic? ....... ...............................
5
2. EPA and States Fail to Control Toxic Discharges in the Absence of Federal Standards..
7
3. Coal Plants Can Clean Up Their Water Pollution .... ...............................
10
Time to Stop Settling for Unlined "Ponds" Instead of Genuine Treatment Systems...
10
DryAsh Handling ................................ .............................10
Best Water Treatment Technologies for Scrubber Sludge and Leachate .............
11
Available Technologies Can Solve a National Pollution Problem .....................
11
4. Muddying the Waters: Political Interference Puts Protections at Risk .................12
22
PART TWO
LIVING DOWNSTREAM: COAL WATER POLLUTION ACROSS THE COUNTRY.... 14
1. Big Plants: Big Problems ............................ .............................14
Labadie: Leaks, Seeps, and Gushing Discharges into the Missouri ...................14
Monroe: Swimming in Coal Plant Waste ............. .............................15
2. Coal Rivers: Duke Energy's Toxic Legacy in North Carolina ..........................15
3. Rivers of Waste: Watersheds In Danger ............... .............................16
The Illinois River: Prairie Stream Under Pressure ..... .............................16
The Black Warrior River: Toxic Metals in Alabama's Waterways .....................18
4. Environmental Injustice: Coal Plant Water Pollution and Inequality ...................19
Waukegan: Industrial Pollution on the Lake .......... .............................19
North Omaha & River Rouge: Vulnerable Communities and Lax Permits .............19
S. Transferring Pollutants from Air to Water .......... ...............................
20
6. Polluting Water in the Arid West .................. ...............................
22
7. TVA's Toxic Legacy: The Ash Pond Clean -Up Problem ..............................
23
8. Coal in the Water, Coast to Coast ................... .............................25
Conclusion......................................... .............................25
Endnotes........................................... .............................26
AppendixI ....................................... ...............................
30
AppendixII .......................................... .............................31
AppendixIII ...................................... ...............................
45
ABOUT THE SPONSORING ORGANIZATIONS
THE ENVIRONMENTAL INTEGRITY PROJECT (EIP) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit
organization dedicated to the enforcement of the nation's anti - pollution laws
and the prevention of political interference with those laws. The EIP provides
objective analysis of how the failure to enforce or implement environmental
laws increases pollution and harms public health, and helps local communities
obtain the protection of environmental laws.
THE SIERRA CLUB is the nation's oldest and largest grassroots environmental
group, with 2.1 million members and supporters. The Sierra Club's Beyond Coal
Campaign works to address the pressing public health threat from coal -fired
power plants and toward clean energy.
CLEAN WATER ACTION is a one - million member organization of diverse
people and groups joined together to protect our environment, health,
economic well- being, and community quality of life. Its goals include clean,
safe and affordable water; prevention of health threatening pollution; creation
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This report was primarily composed and edited by EIP Managing Attorney
Jennifer Duggan and Sierra Club Staff Attorney Craig Segall. Others con-
tributing to this report include: EIP Research Analysts Tom Lyons and Troy
Sanders, Sierra Club Associate Attorney Casey Roberts, Sierra Club Analysts
and Fellows Sherri Liang, Toba Pearlman, Maggie Wendler, Stephanie Grebes,
DATA LIMITATIONS
The information contained in this report is based on company self- reported
data obtained through publicly accessible U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency websites and Freedom of Information Act requests. Occasionally,
government data may contain errors, either because information is inaccu-
rately reported by the regulated entities or incorrectly transcribed by govern-
ment agencies. This report is based on data retrieved prior to July 2013, and
of environmentally safe jobs and businesses; and empowerment of people
to make democracy work. Clean Water Action organizes strong grassroots
groups and coalitions and campaigns to elect environmental candidates and
solve environmental and community problems.
EARTHJUSTICE is a non - profit public interest law organization dedicated to
protecting the magnificent places, natural resources, and wildlife of this earth,
and to defending the right of all people to a healthy environment.
WATERKEEPER ALLIANCE was founded in 1999 by environmental attor-
ney and activist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and several veteran Waterkeeper
Organizations. It is a global movement of on- the -water advocates who patrol
and protect more than 100,000 miles of rivers, streams, and coastlines in
North and South America, Europe, Australia, Asia, and Africa. Waterkeeper
Organizations combine firsthand knowledge of their waterways with an un-
wavering commitment to the rights of their communities and to the rule of law.
and Hina Gupta, Clean Water Action National Water Campaigns Coordinator
Jennifer Peters, Earthjustice Coal Program Director Abigail Dillen, Waterkeeper
Alliance Staff Attorney Peter Harrison and Waterkeeper Alliance Global Coal
Campaign Coordinator Donna Lisenby.
subsequent data retrievals may differ slightly as some companies correct prior
reports.
We are committed to ensuring that the data we present are as accurate as
possible. We will correct any errors that are verifiable.
QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS can be directed to Jennifer Duggan at
jduggan @environmentalintegrity.org
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Coal -fired power plants are the largest source of toxic Only about 63 percent of these coal plants are re-
water pollution in the United States based on toxicity, quired to monitor and report discharges of arsenic,
dumping billions of pounds of pollution into America's boron, cadmium, mercury, and selenium.
rivers, lakes, and streams each year.' The waste from
coal plants, also known as coal combustion waste,
includes coal ash and sludge from pollution controls
called "scrubbers" that are notorious for contaminat-
ing ground and surface waters with toxic heavy metals
and other pollutants.2 These pollutants, including lead
and mercury, can be dangerous to humans and wreak
havoc in our watersheds even in very small amounts.
The toxic metals in this waste do not degrade over
time and many bio- accumulate, increasing in concen-
tration as they travel up the food chain, ultimately col-
lecting in our bodies, and the bodies of our children.
Existing national standards meant to control coal plant
water pollution are thirty -one years old and fail to set
any limits on many dangerous pollutants. Only now
has the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
proposed to update these outdated standards, in order
to curb discharges of arsenic, boron, cadmium, lead,
mercury, selenium, and other heavy metals from coal
plants. Although the Clean Water Act requires the EPA
and states to set pollution limits for power plants in the
absence of federal standard S,3 states have routinely al-
lowed unlimited discharges of this dangerous pollution.
Our review of 386 coal -fired power plants across the
country demonstrates that the Clean Water Act has
been almost universally ignored by power companies
and permitting agencies. Our survey is based on the
EPA's Enforcement and Compliance History Online
(ECHO) database and our review of discharge per-
mits for coal -fired power plants. For each plant, we
reviewed permit and monitoring requirements for arse-
nic, boron, cadmium, lead, mercury, and selenium; the
health of the receiving water; and the permit's expira-
tion date. Our analysis reveals that:
• Nearly 70 percent of the coal plants that discharge
coal ash and scrubber wastewater are allowed to
dump unlimited amounts of arsenic, boron, cad-
mium, mercury, and selenium into public waters, in
violation of the Clean Water Act.
Closing the Floodgates
• Only about 17% of the permits for the 71 coal plants
discharging into waters impaired for arsenic, boron,
cadmium, lead, mercury, or selenium contained a
limit for the pollutant responsible for degrading
water quality.
• Nearly half of the plants surveyed are discharging
toxic pollution with an expired Clean Water Act
permit. Fifty -three power plants are operating with
permits that expired five or more years ago.
In short, coal plants have used our rivers, lakes, and
streams as their own private waste dumps for decades.
These dangerous discharges have serious consequenc-
es for communities that live near coal -fired power
plants and their dumps across the United States.
Tens of thousands of miles of rivers are degraded by
this pollution.4 The EPA has identified more than 2S0
individual instances where coal plants have harmed pp��
ground or surface waters.5 Because many coal power`-9J.v-c7.r.�
plants sit on recreational lakes and reservoirs, or up- In C►�
stream of drinking water supplies, those thousands of }�Ctsv�
miles of poisoned waters have an impact on people��
across the country. Coal water pollution raises cancer
risks, makes fish unsafe to eat, and can inflict lasting- S1�VQ.fI
brain damage on our children .6
Americans do not need to live with these dangerous
discharges. Wastewater treatment technologies that
drastically reduce, and even eliminate, discharges of
toxic pollution are widely available, and are already
in use at some power plants in the United States .7
According to the EPA, coal plants can eliminate coal � �dC)
ash wastewater entirely by moving to dry ash handling 'kx \_
techniques." Scrubber discharges can also be treated
with common sense technologies such as chemical
precipitation, biological treatment, and vapor com-
pression to reduce or eliminate millions of tons of toxic
pollution.9
The EPA's recent proposal to set long overdue stan-
dards contains multiple options, including strong
standards that would require the elimination of the
majority of coal plant water pollution using technolo-
gies that are available and cost - effective. The strongest
of these options, called "Option 5" in the proposal,
would eliminate almost all toxic discharges, reducing
pollution by more than 5 billion pounds a year, and
should be the option EPA selects for the final rule. The
next strongest option, called Option 4, would elimi-
nate ash - contaminated discharges, and apply rigorous
treatment requirements for scrubber sludge, however
it would only reduce pollution by 3.3 billion pounds a
year, 2 billion less than Option 5. By eliminating or sig-
nificantly reducing toxic discharges from coal plants, a
strong final rule would create hundreds of millions of
dollars in benefits every year in the form of improved
health and recreational opportunities for all Americans,
in addition to the incalculable benefits of clean and
healthy watersheds.70 The EPA estimates that ending
toxic dumping from coal plants would cost less than
one percent of annual revenue for most coal plants
and at most about two pennies a day in expenses for
ordinary Americans if the utilities passed some of the
cleanup costs to consumers."
Unfortunately, the proposal also includes illegal and
weak options inserted by political operatives, rather
than EPA scientists. These options would preserve the
status quo or do little to control dangerous pollution
dumping. Weak options are a giveaway to polluters
and Americans deserve better. It is time for the EPA
to set strong, national standards to end decades of
toxic water pollution, and protect public health and our
waters.
OL
2 Closing the Floodgates
All across the United States, millions of gallons per
day of water pollution —laced with toxic pollutants
including arsenic, mercury, selenium, and lead —gush
from coal -fired power plants into our rivers, lakes, and
streams. Pollution flows from the aging, leaky "ponds"
that many plants use to store their toxic slurries of coal
ash and smokestack scrubber sludge. Toxic chemicals
also seep from unlined ponds and dry waste landfills
into ground and surface waters, leaving behind a per-
sistent lethal legacy. All in all, at least 5.5 billion pounds
of water pollution is released into the environment by
coal power plants every year, and a significant portion
of that pollution is made up of toxic chemicals.12
These power plants are the largest source of toxic
water pollution in the United States, dumping more
toxics into our waters than the other top nine polluting
industries combined. 13 This harmful pollution, includ-
ing nearly 80,000 pounds per year of arsenic alone,"
makes its way into waterbodies across the country,
into fish and other aquatic life —and into our bodies,
though fish and water consumption, swimming, boat-
ing, and other activities.ls Thousands of miles of rivers
and streams are already harmed by this pollution, and
every year the problem gets worse.
This report, an independent review of hundreds of coal
plant wastewater permits, shows that nearly 70 per-
cent of power plant permits set no effluent limits on
how much arsenic, boron, cadmium, lead, mercury, and
selenium these plants can discharge.16 Indeed, many
permits do not even require monitoring, so regulators,
and the public, do not know for certain what poisons
are finding their way into the water. Our review focused
on these pollutants because they are almost always
found in coal ash and scrubber waste and are particu-
larly harmful to health or aquatic life.
The Clean Water Act, when it became law, established
a national goal of ending all water pollution by 1985.11
Nearly three decades later, the largest industrial source
of toxic water pollution continues to foul our waters
essentially unchecked because it is only regulated by
Closing the Floodgates
minimal standards that were established in 1982. An
update is long overdue. Existing rules contain essen-
tially no limits on the amounts of toxic pollutants — in-
cluding arsenic, mercury, selenium, and lead —that coal
plants can dump into our water.18 The EPA itself admits
that these standards "do not adequately address the
toxic pollutants discharged from the electric power
industry. "19
Based on toxicity, these power plants are the largest
source of toxic water pollution in the United States,
dumping more toxics into our waters than the other
top nine polluting industries combined. Many plants
have nothing more than rudimentary "settling" ponds,
which do almost nothing to remove the dissolved
heavy metals that make coal water pollution poisonous
and dangerous .20
Decades of unchecked pollution have put our wa-
terways, our environment, and our health at risk. But
now there is an opportunity to change all that. After
years of work by research scientists and engineers —as
well as determined advocacy by citizens across the
country —the EPA has finally proposed to update its
outdated standards. The EPA's proposal lays out a
menu of options that vary significantly in the amount
of pollution they would control. Some of those options
are inexcusably and illegally weak. But the strongest
options— Option 5, which sets "zero discharge" stan-
dards that would require plants to clean up almost
entirely and Option 4, which eliminates most dis-
charges and requires comprehensive treatment for the
remainder —would cost - effectively move the fleet of
coal power plants toward zero discharge of pollutants,
protecting our public health and our environment.
In addition to the incalculable benefits of thousands of
mile(&of cleaner rivers and streams that would result
from-removing these discharges of toxic metals, the
r would alsf3rwbate thousands of jobs and hundreds
oillions of dollars in monetary benefits every year in
the form of improved health and recreational oppor-
tunities across the United State S.21 The coal industry,
which has long imposed the costs of its pollution on
all of us, can readily absorb the relatively modest cost
of cleaning up its pollution, rather than freely dumping
it into rivers. The common -sense treatments required
by the EPA's proposed rules are remarkably afford-
able, amounting to substantially less than one percent
of revenue for almost all coal plants, and no more than
two pennies a day in expenses for ordinary Americans,
if utilities passed costs onto consumers in their elec-
tricity bills.22 In exchange for two cents a day, we could
end most toxic water pollution in this country.
�\U
The EPA must finalize a zero discharge rule and put us
on a path to solving one of our most widespread and
�armful
pollution problems. It is time to move forward
and protect public health and environment.
The 5.5 billion pounds of water pollution from coal
power plants every year include at least 1.79 billion
pounds of metals, including arsenic, selenium, cadmi-
um, chromium, and mercury.23 These toxics are hazard-
ous to humans or aquatic life in very small doses (mea-
sured in parts per billion) because they do not degrade
over time and bio- accumulate, meaning they increase
in concentration as they are passed up the food chain.
Much of the remaining pollution consists of "nutrients"
such as nitrogen and phosphorus, which contribute to
thick, soupy algal blooms that can choke watersheds,
such as the Chesapeake Bay.24
or discharge from these sites .21 Many of these waste
dumps or ponds have no liners to prevent pollution
from leaking out of them .30
According to the EPA, tens of thousands of miles of
rivers are degraded by this pollution.31 The EPA has
already identified 132 separate cases where a power
plant contaminated surface waters and another 123
cases where groundwater was damaged. With respect
to arsenic, boron, cadmium, iron, lead, manganese,
nickel, selenium, and thallium, the 290 coal plants
surveyed by EPA put as much of a burden on the
environment as thousands of sewage plants.
In addition to those listed opposite, the EPA has identi-
fied many other dangerous substances in coal plant
wastewater, including chromium, molybdenum, and
thallium.64 In almost every instance, coal plants are
the largest source of each of these water pollutants
nationally.
The EPA calculates that the annual pollution from coal
power plants translates into more than eight million
TWPE or toxic weighted pound equivalents, indicat-
ing a huge toxic burden on the nation's waters.65 That
figure dwarfs the pollution from any other industrial
category in the United States and is more than the
other top nine polluting industries combined —more
than all the paper mills in the country, more than all the
refineries, more than all the chemical plants and fertil-
izer facilities and ore mills and incinerators.66 The waste
is also far more toxic than any discharge from a typical
publicly -owned treatment works, the sort of sewage
plant that serves cities and towns. Scrubber waste
alone contains 80 times more selenium than a typical
sewage plant's waste .67 With respect to toxic pollution,
the 290 coal plants surveyed by EPA put as much of
a burden on the environment as thousands of sewage
plants.68 With hundreds of coal power plants across
the country, it is no surprise that coal plant pollution
poses such a serious threat to our waterways.
HOW COAL PLANT WATER POLLUTION AFFECTS US
Coal power plants can use millions of gallons of water
every day, so most power plants sit on or near a water
body. This means that coal plants discharge into hun-
dreds of rivers, lakes, and streams all across the United
States. These waters are often popular recreational
spots for boating, swimming, and fishing and are drink-
ing water sources for nearby communities. Fishing
provides an inexpensive, reliable, and healthy food
source, but when fish are contaminated, communities
that depend on fishing are far more vulnerable than
the general population.
There is no question that harm to fish and other
wildlife from coal waste discharges is widespread and
4 Closing the Floodgates
This dumping occurs in astonishing volumes. The EPA
estimates that, each year, up to 14.5 billion gallons of fly
ash transport water and up to 6.6 billion gallons of bot-
tom ash transport water may be produced at just one
power plant and dumped into ash pond S.25 Making wa-
ter pollution worse, many plants either have installed,
or will soon install, smokestack "scrubbers"—sys-
tems that can prevent toxic metals from going up the
smokestack into the air. The problem is that Acrs
often concentrate the metals they remove into a wet,
toxic, sludge that generally does not undergo any
effective treatment.26 Thanks to stricter air pollution
rules, scrubber use has increased by 900 percent since
1982.27 Yet, there are no standards to ensure protective
wastewater treatment of the scrubber sludge, and so
this especially toxic new wastewater stream is ending
up in settling ponds where it then makes its way into
rivers, streams, and lakes.
�1
And that's not all: Toxic pollution also occurs when
leachate systems for landfills and ash impoundments
ti\w discharge untreated or inadequately treated waste-
waters .28 In some cases, coal ash landfills or ponds
cover hundreds of acres, fill in local wetlands, and turn
streams into drainage ditches for waste that either leak
or discharge from these sites .21 Many of these waste
dumps or ponds have no liners to prevent pollution
from leaking out of them .30
According to the EPA, tens of thousands of miles of
rivers are degraded by this pollution.31 The EPA has
already identified 132 separate cases where a power
plant contaminated surface waters and another 123
cases where groundwater was damaged. With respect
to arsenic, boron, cadmium, iron, lead, manganese,
nickel, selenium, and thallium, the 290 coal plants
surveyed by EPA put as much of a burden on the
environment as thousands of sewage plants.
In addition to those listed opposite, the EPA has identi-
fied many other dangerous substances in coal plant
wastewater, including chromium, molybdenum, and
thallium.64 In almost every instance, coal plants are
the largest source of each of these water pollutants
nationally.
The EPA calculates that the annual pollution from coal
power plants translates into more than eight million
TWPE or toxic weighted pound equivalents, indicat-
ing a huge toxic burden on the nation's waters.65 That
figure dwarfs the pollution from any other industrial
category in the United States and is more than the
other top nine polluting industries combined —more
than all the paper mills in the country, more than all the
refineries, more than all the chemical plants and fertil-
izer facilities and ore mills and incinerators.66 The waste
is also far more toxic than any discharge from a typical
publicly -owned treatment works, the sort of sewage
plant that serves cities and towns. Scrubber waste
alone contains 80 times more selenium than a typical
sewage plant's waste .67 With respect to toxic pollution,
the 290 coal plants surveyed by EPA put as much of
a burden on the environment as thousands of sewage
plants.68 With hundreds of coal power plants across
the country, it is no surprise that coal plant pollution
poses such a serious threat to our waterways.
HOW COAL PLANT WATER POLLUTION AFFECTS US
Coal power plants can use millions of gallons of water
every day, so most power plants sit on or near a water
body. This means that coal plants discharge into hun-
dreds of rivers, lakes, and streams all across the United
States. These waters are often popular recreational
spots for boating, swimming, and fishing and are drink-
ing water sources for nearby communities. Fishing
provides an inexpensive, reliable, and healthy food
source, but when fish are contaminated, communities
that depend on fishing are far more vulnerable than
the general population.
There is no question that harm to fish and other
wildlife from coal waste discharges is widespread and
4 Closing the Floodgates
WHY IS COAL PLANT vr E[ POLLUTION SO TOXIC?
Although coal waste streams contain a varying mix-
ture ofpoUuUmn, all of them are toxic. Below are sum-
maries of some of the most dangerous poisons they
ARSENIC
Arsenic ise potent poison. Power plan tS32discharge
at least 79.2OO pounds nf arsenic every year-which
the EPA calculates tobe32O.DDD "toxic weighted
pound equivalents" (TVVPE), the normalized unit that
EPA uses to compare the relative toxic effects of dif-
ferent po||utants.`zAccondingtothe EPA. arsenic is
"frequently observed at elevated concentrations" near
coal waste sites, where it has been found inground'
weter,andcana(sobmUduAnr''bio-accuroo|ate.^in
ecosystems affected by these discharges .»"According
to the Agency for Toxic Substances Control and
Disease Registry (ATSDR). arsenic |n drinking water
is linked tomiscarriages, stillbirths, and infants with
low birth vveights.zs Arsenic can also cause cancer,
including skin tumors and internal organ tumors.36and
js also connected tu heart problems, nervous system
disorders, and intense stomach pain .z/
MERCURY
As the EPA explains, even though mercury concentra-
tions |ncoa|p|amtmestecanbee|abveiy|ow^^me,'
ouryisahigh|ytoxiccompoundthatnepoesentsan
environmental and human health risk even insmall
cuncentskions.'' and the conditions et the bottom
uf coal waste pools are particularly likely toconvert
mercury into its most toxic form &38Mercury is bio-
acoumu]abmg poison that impairs brain development
in children and causes nervous system and kidney
damage inadu|ts.o'A fraction ofa tea-spoon ofmer-
cury can contaminate 2S-acre lake '+^and coal plants
dump 2.O2O pounds —or33O.0ODTVVPE— into our
water every vear'` Mercury also accumulates b`fish,
making them unsafe toeat.+z
SELENIUM
Coal power plants discharge 225.0OO pounds of se-
lenium eachyeax^oresu|L/nginaevereenvinonmental
harpn.^^ High levels of selenium can kill people, and
lower levels can cause nervous system prob|enns, brit-
tle hair, and deformed nai(s.'s Selenium may take its
most serious toll in our rivers and streams, where itis
acutely poisonous to fish and other aquatic life ineven
small doses. Concentrations below 3 micrograms per
liter can kill fish '^^ and lower concentrations can leave
fish deformed or sterile 'wSelenium also bio-acnomu
|atasand interferes with fish reproduction, meaning
that it can permanently destroy wildlife populations in
lakes and rivers as it works its way through the eco-
system overaperiodofyeam.411
LEAD
Lead isa highly toxic poison that can cause severe
brain damage, especially inchi|dpen.*v Coal plants
dump 64`400 pounds of lead into the water each
yearm Although the EPA reports that much mfthis
lead settles out fairly quickly, ifit winds uppassing
into river sediment, |twill persist. Once lead enters the
river ecosystem, it can enter the food chain and bio'
accunndate^ leading to serious harm to wildlife, as well
as threatening peop]e.o
CADMIUM
Cadmium is yet another bio-accunm|ahngheavy
meta|.51 Power plants send 3\gO0 pounds each year
into our water, or738O00TVVPE. due tocadmium's
high tuxicitvssATS]R warns that drinking water with
elevated cadmium levels can cause kidney damage.
fragile bones. vomiting and diarrhea—and sometimes
death .s^ Cadmium also likely causes cancer.55 Fish ex-
posed tmexcesscadmiunnbecomedeforrned56
BORON
Boron is rare in unpolluted water, meaning that even
very small concentrations can be toxic to wildlife not
usually exposed to this noDutant." Coal plants dis-
charge morothan54noi|Uunpoundsnfboronanoua|1y,
converting a rare contaminant into ecommon-place
pollutant downstream of their discharge pointn.m
Boron's effect nn people is unclear, but some studies
suggest that it can cause nausea, vonx1ing. and diar'
rhea.evenot|owconcentratinnu.so
BROMIDES
Coal plant waste contains bromide salts, which are
very hard to remove short ofevaporating wastewater
to crystallize out these pollutants." Bromides interact
with disinfectant processes in water treatment plants
tn form disinfection byproducts, including a class of
chemicals called Lriha)onnethanes, which are associ-
ated with b|addercancero
NITROGEN AND PHOSPHORUS
These nutrients are important m small quantities, but
can readily overpower ecosystems /n larger quantities,
converting clear waters into algae-choked surnps.m
Because coal plants dump more than 30million
pounds of nitrogen and G82.00O pounds of phos-
phorus annua{k(theyaraasubstontio|con1nbutorto
harmful nutrient loadings in the Chesapeake Bay and
otherwetersheds.«`
serious. Scientists have documented coal pollutants,
such as selenium and arsenic, building up to "very high
concentrations" in fish and wildlife exposed to coal
waste discharges, and that those accumulating toxics
can ultimately deform or kill animals.69
The more than 250 documented incidents of dam-
age to water resources from coal plant pollution have
resulted in lasting environmental harm.70 One survey
Even in large lakes, coal plant pollution persists and ac-
cumulates. Researchers have discovered that arsenic,
in particular, accumulates in the sediments on lake bot-
toms, and then erupts from sediments as water warms
and stratifies in the summer, emerging back into the
lake during the same summer days when many people
are likely to be out fishing and swimming.83
These are just some of the reported incidents of
focusing on reported fish and wildlife damage caused damage from coal plant pollution. As the EPA has
by coal waste discharges alone shows at least 22 such documented, the scope of this pollution is staggering.
incidents over the last few decades, causing damage According to the EPA, two- thirds of the waterways re-
of more than $2.3 billion .71 Incredibly, 12 of the 22 cases ceiving coal plant waste have reduced water quality as
were caused by permitted discharges, further showing a direct result of that pollution .84 Nearly half of those
the need for strong updated national standard S.72
The same alarming story repeats itself again and
again. In North Carolina, Belews Lake, a popular fishing
and recreation spot, was contaminated by just over
a decade of coal waste dumping. Just ten years of
discharges was enough to eliminate 18 of the 20 fish
species in the lake, and to leave dangerous levels of
contamination in fish and birds more than ten years
later .73 In Hyco Reservoir, also in North Carolina, coal
plant dumping led to an $864 million fish kill that left
selenium levels in blue gill 1,000 times greater than or-
dinary water concentrations.74 In Texas, at Martin Creek
Reservoir, a coal plant discharged wastewater for just
eight months; within two years, 90 percent of plank-
ton- eating fish in the lake had died, and largemouth
bass and bluegill could no longer reproduce .75 Even a
few years later, fish in the lake were riddled with dead
waterways (49 percent) have water quality worse
than the EPA's National Recommended Water Quality
Criteria, and a fifth of them violate standards for drink-
ing water.85 Standards for arsenic, selenium, cadmium,
and thallium are the most frequently violated. For
instance, 147 out of the 297 waterbodies receiving coal
waste exceed human health water quality standards
for arsenic.86 Seventy -eight power plants discharge
directly into a water body that has been formally listed
as having water quality impaired by a pollutant in coal
waste (with mercury being the most common pollut-
ant of concern ).87
The EPA estimates that 11,200 miles of rivers exceed
recommended water quality levels for human health
as a result of coal plant water pollution. Nearly 24,000
miles of river exceed recommended water quality
levels for recreation .811 In many of these waterways, fish
or dying tissue in their internal organ S.76 Poisoned fish are not safe to eat. Mercury in fish poses a threat to
turned up in the Welsh Reservoir in Texas, too, fort- people fishing for food in nearly two - thirds of receiv-
ing the state to warn against consuming fish from the ing waters, and 38 percent of those waters have formal
lake.77 Texas's Brandy Branch Reservoir was placed
under the same advisory once it started receiving ash
pond discharges .78
A recent survey of waters affected by nine power
plants, based on intensive water sampling in North
Carolina, found contamination all across the state .79
One sampling showed concentrations of arsenic in
discharges from two of the plants at levels four to nine
times greater than the EPA's drinking water stan-
dards. Discharges from other plants showed selenium
concentrations up to 17 times greater than the EPA's
recommended chronic exposure level for aquatic life.90
Discharges from these plants also exceeded human
and aquatic life standards for antimony, cadmium, and
thallium.87 The lakes and rivers receiving this waste,
predictably, showed elevated levels of toxics, includ-
ing arsenic and selenium, even though they are large
bodies of water. Fish in at least one of the lakes are
deformed in ways that indicate selenium poisoning.82
,r
fish advisories.89
Drinking water is affected too. The EPA reports that
almost 40 percent of plants discharge within five miles
of a public water intake, and 85 percent of plants dis-
charge within five miles of a public well,90
Human health impacts from this pollution are serious.
The EPA estimates, for instance, that nearly 140,000
people per year experience increased cancer risk due
to arsenic in fish from coal plants; that nearly 13,000
children under the age of seven each year have re-
duced IQs because of lead in fish they eat; and that
almost 2,000 children are born with lower IQs because
of mercury in fish their mothers have eaten.91
This nationwide poisoning of our rivers is particularly
unjust for communities that depend heavily on fish for
food. According to the National Environmental Justice
Advisory Council, families in many communities of
color, including those of African - American and Native
VU
Closing the Floodgates
peoples, rely on fishing to supply basic nutritional
needs.92 As the Council wrote, "[p]ut simply, communi-
ties of color, low- income communities, tribes, and other
indigenous peoples depend on healthy aquatic ecosys-
tems and the fish, aquatic plants, and wildlife that these
ecosystems support ."93 Fishing provides an inexpen-
sive, reliable, and healthful food source, but when fish
are contaminated, reliance on fishing for food makes
communities far more vulnerable to water pollution and
contaminated fish than the general population.
Nutrient pollution is also a serious problem, contribut-
ing to algal blooms and other ecological imbalances
across the country. For example, power plants dis-
charge approximately 2.2 million pounds per year of
nitrogen to the Chesapeake Bay - 30% of the total
nitrogen load from NPDES permitted sources discharg-
ing industrial wastewaters in that struggling watershed,
_4 which is among the most ecologically and economi-
cally important estuaries in the country. 94
�? In sum, from coast to coast, and in rivers, lakes, and
3
streams all across the country, coal plant water pollu-
tion accumulates, poisoning waters, fouling sediment,
and contributing to large -scale ecological disruption
across tens of thousands of miles of waterways — near-
ly three decades after the Clean Water Act's target
3 date to eliminate water pollution.95
® mr1r, • • , •
New national standards are urgently needed in large
part because EPA and the states have almost entirely
failed to control toxic metal pollution from coal power
plants. Where the EPA fails to set strong national
discharge standards for polluters (as is the case here),
state permitting agencies are required by the Clean
Water Act to set limits in discharge permits for indi-
vidual plants that reflect the best available treatment
technology and protect water quality.96 And technolo-
gies are available to significantly reduce and even
eliminate toxic discharges from power plants.97 Yet our
N ��'� >, feview o 386 coal -fired power olants 'ndicates that
,r YNs law has been almost universally ignored by elec-
tric utilities and the permitting agencies that issue and
enforce Clean Water Act discharge permits.
Our survey is based on the EPA's Enforcement and
Compliance History Online (ECHO) database, which
includes permitting information for coal power plants
across the country, and our review of discharge per-
mits. For each plant surveyed, we recorded whether
the permit contained limits or monitoring requirements
for six representative toxic metals (arsenic, boron, cad-
mium, lead, mercury, and selenium); whether the plant
listed ash or scrubber waste among its discharges;
whether the plant discharges into a waterway impaired
for one or more of the six representative toxic metals;
and whether the plant's permit was expired.98 At least
274 of the 386 coal plants discharge coal ash and /or
scrubber wastewater. See Appendices 1 -III for the com-
plete results of our analysis. Our analysis shows that
EPA and states have routinely turned a blind eye to
these dangerous discharges while power plants have
used our nation's waters as their own private dumping
grounds.
The majority of the 274 coal plants (out of 386
reviewed) that report discharging coal ash or scrub-
ber wastewater are not required to limit toxic metal
discharges.99 Of the 274 power plants in this review
that discharge coal ash or scrubber wastewater, only
86 had at least one limit on arsenic, boron, cadmium,
lead, mercury, and selenium discharges.100 In other
words, the permits for 69 percent of the plants allowed
unlimited discharges of these pollutants in violation of
the Clean Water Act.
Sites without a limit for at least
188
one of the metals below
Arsenic
255
Boron
267
Cadmium
263
Lead
251
Mercury
235
Selenium
232
Moreover, permit limits vary by stringency and by com-
pleteness. Very few, if any, plants have protective limits
for all relevant metals; most have limits for only a sub-
set of these poisons. For example, far more plants have
limits for selenium than they do for arsenic, cadmium,
boron, or lead.
No state consistently issues comprehensive toxic
metals limits for all plants discharging ash or scrub-
ber waste in its jurisdiction. State permitting practices
are inconsistent, and do not afford citizens a predict-
able or complete level of protection for all dangerous
pollutants in coal waste water.
Approximately 63 percent of the power plants with
coal ash and scrubber discharges surveyed are
required to monitor and report discharge concen-
trations of toxic pollution. Monitoring and reporting
requirements are critical because without monitoring
data, the EPA and state agencies and downstream
communities have no way of knowing the actual
Closing the Floodgates 7
AL
9
5
5
0
0
0 1
0
AR
4
0
0
0
0
0 0
0
CO
3
2
0
0
1
1 0
2
DE
1
0
0
0
0
0 0
0
FL
7
7
3
0
2
5 4
4
GA
8
0
0
0
0
0 0
0
IA
15
1
0
0
0
1 0
O
IL
18
5
0
5
0
0 0
0
IW2
16
3
O
0
1
1 2
1
KS
5
0
0
0
0
O 0
0
KY
20
0
0
O
0
0 0
0
LA
4
3
0
0
0
3 0
0
MA
3
0
0
0
0
0 0
0
MD
6
0
0
0
0
0 0
0
MI
16
7
0
O
0
0 7
1
MN
5
2
0
0
0
0 2
0
MO
15
1
0
0
0
0 0
1
Ms
3
0
0
0
0
0 0
0
MT
2
0
0
0
0
0 0
0
NC
10
5
1
1
2
2 2
2
NO
6
0
0
O
0
0 0
0
NE
5
0
0
0
0
0 0
0
NH
1
0
0
0
0
0 0
0
NJ
2
0
0
0
0
0 0
0
NM
1
0
0
0
0
0 0
0
NY
3
3
2
0
2
3 3
2
OH
18
10
0
0
0
0 8
3
OK
4
O
0
0
0
0 0
0
PA
12
8
0
1
2
6 5
7
Sc
10
3
3
0
0
0 1
2
TN
8
1
1
O
0
0 0
1
TX
13
12
1
0
1
1 1
12
VA
7
0
0
O
0
0 0
0
W I
7
3
0
0
0
0 3
0
WV
5
4
3
O
0
0 0
3
WY
3
1
0
0
0
0 0
1
�uL,Q)",
(Cy, �►cv r�
cok 4
8 Closing the Floodgates
amount of toxics discharged into a watershed. Yet only
172 of the 274 plants were required to monitor for at
least one of the metals analyzed in this report.
Monitoring requirements vary: Although some plants
are required to monitor for several toxic pollutants,
consistent and careful monitoring for all relevant pol-
lutants is a rarity. In other words, not only do many
permits lack limits on the quantity of toxic metals
being discharged, they fail even to require monitoring
of exactly what and how much is discharged into our
water, leaving communities in the dark.
Power plants discharge toxics into impaired waters
without limits. Under the Clean Water Act, states
must assess whether waters are "impaired" (i.e. not
meeting water quality standards) and create plans to
clean them up. The EPA estimates that 25 percent of
surface waters that receive power plant discharges
are impaired for a pollutant that is discharged by the
plan t.103 And "38 percent of surface waters are under
a fish advisory for a pollutant associated with [power
plant wastewater]. "704 Where discharges could cause or
contribute to an exceedance of water quality stan-
dards in the receiving waters, states are required to set
pollution limits to prevent the exceedance.105 The EPA
has identified at least 78 plants discharging into waters
impaired by coal waste pollutants .106 Our review of 71
such power plants discharging to waters impaired for
arsenic, boron, cadmium, lead, mercury, or selenium
found that only twelve, or approximately 17 %, had
limits for at least one of the pollutants responsible for
causing the impairment. It is likely that even more wa-
ters are impaired by these discharges than this survey
reflects because most states do not regularly assess all
waters, and the EPA ECHO database did not always list
the cause of impairment.
The chart below identifies those plants discharging
into waters impaired by arsenic, boron, cadmium,
lead, or mercury that have at least one limit for the six
pollutants. In some cases, the plant's permit restricts
discharges of one pollutant, but allows unlimited dis-
charges of the pollutant damaging water quality. For
example, the permit for the Bay Shore plant in Ohio
limits discharges of mercury, but the receiving water is
impaired for arsenic.
71 POWER PLANTS
Monitoring for at least one of the metals
172
below
3
Arsenic
97
Boron
45
Cadmium
78
Lead
81
Mercury
126
Selenium
102
Monitoring requirements vary: Although some plants
are required to monitor for several toxic pollutants,
consistent and careful monitoring for all relevant pol-
lutants is a rarity. In other words, not only do many
permits lack limits on the quantity of toxic metals
being discharged, they fail even to require monitoring
of exactly what and how much is discharged into our
water, leaving communities in the dark.
Power plants discharge toxics into impaired waters
without limits. Under the Clean Water Act, states
must assess whether waters are "impaired" (i.e. not
meeting water quality standards) and create plans to
clean them up. The EPA estimates that 25 percent of
surface waters that receive power plant discharges
are impaired for a pollutant that is discharged by the
plan t.103 And "38 percent of surface waters are under
a fish advisory for a pollutant associated with [power
plant wastewater]. "704 Where discharges could cause or
contribute to an exceedance of water quality stan-
dards in the receiving waters, states are required to set
pollution limits to prevent the exceedance.105 The EPA
has identified at least 78 plants discharging into waters
impaired by coal waste pollutants .106 Our review of 71
such power plants discharging to waters impaired for
arsenic, boron, cadmium, lead, mercury, or selenium
found that only twelve, or approximately 17 %, had
limits for at least one of the pollutants responsible for
causing the impairment. It is likely that even more wa-
ters are impaired by these discharges than this survey
reflects because most states do not regularly assess all
waters, and the EPA ECHO database did not always list
the cause of impairment.
The chart below identifies those plants discharging
into waters impaired by arsenic, boron, cadmium,
lead, or mercury that have at least one limit for the six
pollutants. In some cases, the plant's permit restricts
discharges of one pollutant, but allows unlimited dis-
charges of the pollutant damaging water quality. For
example, the permit for the Bay Shore plant in Ohio
limits discharges of mercury, but the receiving water is
impaired for arsenic.
Appendix III identifies power plants discharging into
impaired waters.
Power plant permits are not regularly reviewed and
strengthened as required by law. The Clean Water Act
only allows discharge permits to be issued for a period
of five years .107 At the end of the five -year period, the
discharger must submit a new application and obtain
approval from the permitting agency. This requirement
is meant to ensure that effluent limits are regularly
reviewed to account for new advances in wastewater
treatment technologies. In addition, certain plants may
also need to meet more stringent limits if they are
polluting waters that are not meeting water quality
standards. However, the reality is that many discharge
permits for power plants are "administratively" ex-
tended, which means the plant continues to discharge
under the old permit for years and sometimes even
decades. Our review identified 187 (out of 382108) coal
plants operating with expired permits as of March 13,
2013.
Of the 187 plants with expired permits as of March 13,
2013, 144 are for permits that discharge coal ash and/
or scrubber wastewater. Only 41 of these plants have
at least one limit on arsenic, boron, cadmium, mercury,
or selenium discharges; 72 percent contain no limits on
these pollutants. Only 75 plants, or about 52 percent,
are required to monitor and report toxic discharges of
these pollutants.
MONITORING METAL LIMITS
Monitoring / limit for at least one
71 POWER PLANTS
Limits for at least
one of the metals below 18
Arsenic
3
Boron
2
Cadmium
3
Lead
5
Mercury
11
Selenium
8
Appendix III identifies power plants discharging into
impaired waters.
Power plant permits are not regularly reviewed and
strengthened as required by law. The Clean Water Act
only allows discharge permits to be issued for a period
of five years .107 At the end of the five -year period, the
discharger must submit a new application and obtain
approval from the permitting agency. This requirement
is meant to ensure that effluent limits are regularly
reviewed to account for new advances in wastewater
treatment technologies. In addition, certain plants may
also need to meet more stringent limits if they are
polluting waters that are not meeting water quality
standards. However, the reality is that many discharge
permits for power plants are "administratively" ex-
tended, which means the plant continues to discharge
under the old permit for years and sometimes even
decades. Our review identified 187 (out of 382108) coal
plants operating with expired permits as of March 13,
2013.
Of the 187 plants with expired permits as of March 13,
2013, 144 are for permits that discharge coal ash and/
or scrubber wastewater. Only 41 of these plants have
at least one limit on arsenic, boron, cadmium, mercury,
or selenium discharges; 72 percent contain no limits on
these pollutants. Only 75 plants, or about 52 percent,
are required to monitor and report toxic discharges of
these pollutants.
MONITORING METAL LIMITS
Monitoring / limit for at least one
75 41
of the metals below
Arsenic
37 9
Boron
21 6
Cadmium
25 5
Lead
33 10
Mercury
54 20
Closing the Floodgates 9
Selenium 35 16
A significant number of coal plants are operating
with permits that expired five or more years ago.
Specifically, fifty -three permits expired on March 13,
2008 or earlier. Of these fifty -three plants, forty -three
discharge coal ash and /or scrubber wastewater. Only
six of these plants had a limit for one of the six metals;
86 percent had no limits on these pollutants. Thirteen
plants were required to monitor and report concentra-
tions of discharges of at least one of the metals.
The administrative extension of these expired permits
has serious consequences for public health and the
environment. The failure to timely renew permits for
power plants means that plants do not keep up with
advances in wastewater treatment technologies to
reduce toxic discharges. In addition, this practice effec-
tively prohibits the public from weighing in on permits
that affect their communities and watersheds —a right
that the Clean Water Act guarantees.
The bottom line is that, in the absence of a binding
federal backstop, EPA and the states are failing to
protect the public from the toxic threat posed by coal
plant water pollution; plants across the country have
been allowed to pollute without limit.
We do not have to live with dangerous pollutants in
our water. Coal plant operators have no excuse for
using rivers and streams as waste dumps when the
industry can readily afford to install modern pollution
controls that will keep our waterways clean. The stron-
gest regulatory options proposed by the EPA (Options
4 and 5 in its proposed rule) would compel this long
overdue cleanup, though only Option 5 would result in
"zero discharge" of toxic pollutants.
TIME TO STOP SETTLING FOR UNLINED "PONDS"
INSTEAD OF GENUINE TREATMENT SYSTEMS
Historically, power plants have pooled their wastewater
streams into massive, often unlined, pits called settling
ponds that provide only rudimentary "treatment." As
contaminated water is allowed to sit, some solids settle
to the bottom of the ponds, but dissolved heavy met-
als and other harmful pollutants remain in the pond
waters that are eventually discharged straight into
rivers and streams.109 Meanwhile, unlined ponds allow
pollutants to leach into the water table, contaminating
groundwater and the connected surface waters 170
Further, the structural instability of many ponds is
a major hazard, as a collapse in Tennessee made
tragically clear in December of 2008.171 When the 84-
acre surface impoundment at the Tennessee Valley
Authority's Kingston Plant burst, it dumped more than
a billion gallons of coal ash slurry into the Emory River,
destroying the watershed and covering more than 300
acres of surrounding land. This spill devastated an en-
tire community, and cleanup efforts costing more than
a billion dollars have yet to fully restore the watershed
in the Emory and Clinch rivers.
In its proposed rule, the EPA provides detailed analysis
confirming that coal plants can make a shift away from
settling ponds to better, safer, pollution controls. By
transitioning to dry ash management systems and em-
ploying superior wastewater treatment technologies
such as chemical precipitation, in combination with
biological treatment or vapor compression, it is pos-
sible to reduce pollution from coal plants by millions of
tons each year, even achieving zero liquid discharge .112
DRY ASH HANDLING
6DT\"
Much coal water pollution comes from using water to
clean out bottom ash and fly ash from coal plant sys-
tems. But there is no need to use good, clean water to
move this hazardous waste. Instead, simple mechanical
systems can be used to move the ash. This "dry han-
dling" technology takes plant discharges of millions or
billions of gallons per year down to zero.
Dry handling of fly ash should be required to eliminate
one of the most polluted wastewater streams at coal
plants. In "wet" management systems, fly ash from coal
combustion is transported to ash ponds using water
as a sluicing agent, but it is also possible to convey
the ash pneumatically, without water, to silos, where it
can be loaded onto trucks or rail cars for transport to
a properly constructed, lined landfill 713 Already, 66 per-
cent of coal and petroleum coke plants employ dry ash
handling methods that eliminate all discharges '114 and
there is no reason why all plants should not employ
the best dry handling methods exclusively. The conver-
sion is readily achievable as evidenced by the fact that
"power companies have converted at least 115 units at
Closing the Floodgates
MONITORING
METAL LIMITS
Monitoring / limit for at least one
13
6
of the metals below
Arsenic
8
1
Boron
4
2
Cadmium
6
0
Lead
7
2
Mercury
6
2
Selenium
4
1
The administrative extension of these expired permits
has serious consequences for public health and the
environment. The failure to timely renew permits for
power plants means that plants do not keep up with
advances in wastewater treatment technologies to
reduce toxic discharges. In addition, this practice effec-
tively prohibits the public from weighing in on permits
that affect their communities and watersheds —a right
that the Clean Water Act guarantees.
The bottom line is that, in the absence of a binding
federal backstop, EPA and the states are failing to
protect the public from the toxic threat posed by coal
plant water pollution; plants across the country have
been allowed to pollute without limit.
We do not have to live with dangerous pollutants in
our water. Coal plant operators have no excuse for
using rivers and streams as waste dumps when the
industry can readily afford to install modern pollution
controls that will keep our waterways clean. The stron-
gest regulatory options proposed by the EPA (Options
4 and 5 in its proposed rule) would compel this long
overdue cleanup, though only Option 5 would result in
"zero discharge" of toxic pollutants.
TIME TO STOP SETTLING FOR UNLINED "PONDS"
INSTEAD OF GENUINE TREATMENT SYSTEMS
Historically, power plants have pooled their wastewater
streams into massive, often unlined, pits called settling
ponds that provide only rudimentary "treatment." As
contaminated water is allowed to sit, some solids settle
to the bottom of the ponds, but dissolved heavy met-
als and other harmful pollutants remain in the pond
waters that are eventually discharged straight into
rivers and streams.109 Meanwhile, unlined ponds allow
pollutants to leach into the water table, contaminating
groundwater and the connected surface waters 170
Further, the structural instability of many ponds is
a major hazard, as a collapse in Tennessee made
tragically clear in December of 2008.171 When the 84-
acre surface impoundment at the Tennessee Valley
Authority's Kingston Plant burst, it dumped more than
a billion gallons of coal ash slurry into the Emory River,
destroying the watershed and covering more than 300
acres of surrounding land. This spill devastated an en-
tire community, and cleanup efforts costing more than
a billion dollars have yet to fully restore the watershed
in the Emory and Clinch rivers.
In its proposed rule, the EPA provides detailed analysis
confirming that coal plants can make a shift away from
settling ponds to better, safer, pollution controls. By
transitioning to dry ash management systems and em-
ploying superior wastewater treatment technologies
such as chemical precipitation, in combination with
biological treatment or vapor compression, it is pos-
sible to reduce pollution from coal plants by millions of
tons each year, even achieving zero liquid discharge .112
DRY ASH HANDLING
6DT\"
Much coal water pollution comes from using water to
clean out bottom ash and fly ash from coal plant sys-
tems. But there is no need to use good, clean water to
move this hazardous waste. Instead, simple mechanical
systems can be used to move the ash. This "dry han-
dling" technology takes plant discharges of millions or
billions of gallons per year down to zero.
Dry handling of fly ash should be required to eliminate
one of the most polluted wastewater streams at coal
plants. In "wet" management systems, fly ash from coal
combustion is transported to ash ponds using water
as a sluicing agent, but it is also possible to convey
the ash pneumatically, without water, to silos, where it
can be loaded onto trucks or rail cars for transport to
a properly constructed, lined landfill 713 Already, 66 per-
cent of coal and petroleum coke plants employ dry ash
handling methods that eliminate all discharges '114 and
there is no reason why all plants should not employ
the best dry handling methods exclusively. The conver-
sion is readily achievable as evidenced by the fact that
"power companies have converted at least 115 units at
Closing the Floodgates
more than 45 plants to dry fly ash handling systems
reactor alters the form of selenium, reducing selenate
since 2000. "75
and selenite to elemental selenium, which becomes
Coal plants should also be required to install dry ash
enmeshed in the biomass residuals, leaving discharged
management systems for their bottom ash, as ap-
wastewaters with very low concentrations of seleni-
proximately 22 percent of U.S. power plants burning
um.122 The conditions in the bioreactor also can facili-
coal, coke, and oil already are doing.716 Bottom ash is
tate substantial removal of mercury, arsenic, and other
the heavier ash that collects at the bottom the boiler
metals.123 The EPA estimates that at least six power
and generally drops by gravity to a hopper located
plants in the U.S. are successfully utilizing biological
below the boiler. Most of the hoppers contain water fo/VAPOR
eatment.124
quenching hot ash. In many wet management sys-
COMPRESSION EVAPORATION: Even com-
tems, ash exiting the hopper is sluiced into ash ponds.
bined biological /chemical treatment leaves some dis-
In contrast, dry systems use a drag chain to remove
charge behind, but it is possible to eliminate scrubber
bottom ash out of the boiler, dewatering the ash as it
discharges completely. Successful evaporation systems
is pulled up an incline and draining the water back into
have been installed at three coal -fired power plants in
the boiler. The bottom ash is then ready for transport
the U.S. and at four plants in Italy.125 This type of system
to a landfill or commercial sale as a building materia1.717
uses a "brine concentrator" to reduce wastewater vol-
VSEST WATER TREATMENT TECHNOLOGIES FOR
umes and produce a concentrated wastewater stream
SCRUBBER SLUDGE AND LEACHATE
that can be treated in a further evaporation process.
That process then yields a solid waste product that can
The waste from scrubber sludge and the contami-
nated liquids leaching out from dry ash dumps also
pose significant pollution problems. Those problems,
too, can be solved with demonstrated controls. These
highly- contaminated waste streams are amenable to
treatment with chemical precipitation in combination
with biological treatment systems, which can achieve
extremely high rates of pollutant removal, or in com-
bination with vapor compression evaporation, which
can achieve zero liquid discharge. These technologies
are particularly important to use for scrubber sludge,
because, as discussed above, so many coal plants are
at last installing scrubbers to address long- standing air
pollution problems.1"
,/CHEMICAL PRECIPITATION: At least 40 U.S. power
V plants already use chemical precipitation to achieve
significantly lower effluent concentrations of metals
compared to what settling ponds can achieve. In a
chemical precipitation system, chemicals are added to
the wastewater to facilitate the settling and removal
of solids.119 However, this technology cannot effec-
tively remove selenium, boron, or bromides, which
are typically present in coal plant wastewaters in high
concentration 6.120 To remove these harmful pollutants
and enhance removal of mercury and other met-
als, additional treatment is necessary after chemical
precipitation — usually biologically treatment, except
for bromides, which can only be removed by vapor
compression evaporation..
BIOLOGICAL TREATMENT: In a biological wastewater
treatment system, microorganisms are used to con-
sume organic contaminants, most notably dissolved
forms of selenium 121 These systems can and should be
used after chemical treatment to remove remaining
dangerous metal pollution. In typical systems, the bio-
Closing the Floodgates
be landfilled and a pollutant -free distilled water that
can be reused within the plant or safely discharged to
surface waters .126 Using vapor compression evapora-
tion, power plants can stop discharging pollutants in
scrubber sludge altogether, including bromides, which
can form dangerous disinfection byproducts when they
interact with disinfectant processes in water treatment
plants. And vapor compression evaporation is just one
of many zero discharge options available and in use at
coal plants today.
AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGIES CAN SOLVE A
NATIONAL POLLUTION PROBLEM
To the EPA's great credit, it has recognized the avail-
ability of these technologies and the importance of
using them to cost - effectively reduce, and perhaps
completely eliminate, toxic water pollution from coal
plants.
The EPA's proposed update to the 1982 standards
contains several options, two of which would go a long
way toward solving the problem. These two strongest
options, labeled Options 4 and 5 in the proposed new
rule, work to address the most toxic waste streams,
including liquids contaminated by fly ash, bottom ash,
scrubber sludge, and leachate from waste dumps.
Importantly, only Option 5 meets the Clean Water
Act's mandate to achieve zero liquid discharge, and
because it appears that Option 5 is readily achiev-
able it should be selected. Option 5 would achieve
the greatest progress toward eliminating pollutant
discharges by requiring dry handling of fly ash and
bottom ash and requiring vapor compression evapo-
ration for scrubber wastewaters, along with chemical
treatment for leachate.121 Only Option 5 would require
W Vv,_\W o No
power plants to use vapor compression evaporation to
control for bromides, which are known to form car-
cinogenic disinfection byproducts when exposed to
disinfectant processes in drinking water plants, result-
ing in increased exposure and health risk to those
drinking that water. Overall, Option 5 would eliminate
nearly 5.3 billion pounds of pollution per year.728 Option
4 would achieve lesser but still significant pollution re-
ductions —more than 3.3 billion pound S129 —by requir-
ing dry ash handling and a combination of chemical
precipitation and biological treatment for scrubber
wastewaters 130
Both of these options could be achieved without put-
ting any significant burden on the coal industry. The
EPA has calculated that Option 4 controls would re-
move pollution at a cost of about $70 per lb.; Option 5
would cost about $111 per lb. of pollution.131 These costs
translate into far less than one percent of annual
revenues for the vast majority of coal power plants and
power companies; a tiny additional expense that could
eliminate a huge amount of pollution .132
Costs to ratepayers are equally small: the EPA esti-
mates that Option 4 would, at most, add $3.89 to the
average power bill peryear —just over a penny per day
to eliminate hundreds of thousands of pounds of toxic
pollution from our water. 133 Option 5 would add
6. o the average annual bill —a bit less than two
cents per day.
The rules would also create jobs because skilled work-
ers are needed to install and manage water pollution
controls. The EPA expects that Option 4 would create
1,253 jobs, while Option 5, which requires more work,
would create 2,112 jobs.134
The bottom line is that there is no reason Americans
should have to cope with coal plant water pollution.
Installing controls will cost companies almost nothing,
and perhaps cost ordinary Americans a few pennies
a day. Yet, in the absence of strong leadership, coal
plants have skated by for years without installing these
basic protections.
MUDDYING
POLITICAL
PROTECTIONS
Although Options 4 and 5 would eliminate most
toxic water pollution from coal plants, the proposed
rule does not designate them as "preferred" options.
Instead, the EPA's proposal includes so- called "pre-
ferred" options that would do next to nothing about
scrubber sludge discharges, and which would leave
other major waste streams unregulated- including
large amounts of toxic fly ash and bottom ash waste.
The EPA has warned for years that the 1982 standards
are not adequate to protect the public, especially
because they fail to control toxic metals in scrubber
sludge.135 How could the EPA nonetheless favor such
weak options? The answer is that the EPA did not
come up with these options. The White House's Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) took the highly un-
usual and improper step of writing new weak options
into the draft rule prepared by the EPA's expert staff.
The rule that initially went to OMB basically reflected
the EPA's core priorities. The EPA was looking to sig-
nificantly tighten the 1982 standards because, as the
EPA has stressed since at least 2009, "Es]tudies have
shown that the pollutants present in discharges from
coal -fired power plants can affect aquatic organisms
and wildlife, resulting in lasting environmental impacts
on local habitats and ecosystems. "136 The EPA long
viewed regulatory updates as critical, admitting that
"Et]he current regulations, which were last updated in
1982, do not adequately address the pollutants being
discharged and have not kept pace with changes that
have occurred in the electric power industry over the
last three decades . "737
As a result, the EPA developed two "preferred" options
in its version of the proposal, which presented five op-
tions in all as part of its discussion 138 Under the first,
which the EPA called Option 3, scrubber sludge would
be treated with combined biological and chemical
treatment, and fly ash would have to be dry - handled,
eliminating the discharge. Bottom ash, meanwhile,
could still be handled in ponds, as could leachate from
ash landfills.7b9
The second option, called Option 4, which the EPA
described as the "more environmentally protective" of
its preferred options, would contain all the treatment
options of the first option and would also require dry
handling for bottom ash as well, and require chemical
treatment for leachate.740 Thus, as the EPA explained,
the two preferred options both addressed scrubber
sludge and fly ash thoroughly, and differed in their
handling of "bottom ash transport water and ... leach-
ate ."141 (EPA, unjustifiably, proposed not to implement
the strongest possible proposed option, Option 5,
which would have required zero discharge standards
for scrubber sludge— though the EPA could still select
that option in the final rule).
The proposed rule that emerged from OMB looked
very different. OMB is meant to play a "traffic cop" role
in the Administration, and is charged with coordinating
administrative action, which includes reviewing agency
rulemakings. Because OMB is the last stop before rules
are proposed or finalized, powerful industry groups
have come to see OMB review as an opportunity to
12 Closing the Floodgates
delay, weaken, or block public health protections that
would impose costs on polluters .112 Here, the power
sector's lobbying was successful.
OMB review of the new coal plant water standards
began in winter 2013, and carried on until just before
the rule was signed by the EPA in April that same year.
During that time, the proposal was dramatically weak-
ened. A redline of the rule, showing the original EPA
version and OMB's version reveals the changes: OMB
ponds — "do not represent the best available technol-
ogy for controlling pollutants in [scrubber sludge]" in
almost all circumstances.157 OMB deleted this sentence,
and instead announced that "EPA" was proposing op-
tions that would keep using "surface impoundments
for treatment of [scrubber sludge] " — exactly the op-
posite of what the EPA's scientists had proposed .1-12
OMB added other language endorsing pond S153 and
parroting industry concerns about the biological treat-
refused to let the EPA choose more protective options ment that the EPA had proposed in Option 4.154 OMB
as "preferred" regulatory paths going forward, and added paragraph after paragraph of rationales for why
inserted weaker options instead 143 Option 4 was not preferred, inventing "concerns" that
Visitor logs and other records show that indus- warranted dropping that protective option.155 None of
try representatives met with OMB, with the White this language was in the EPA's original proposal.
House, and with other agencies. What is clear is that
OMB — whether on its own or, more likely, at the behest
of industry players —acted to weaken the proposed
rule. OMB would not let the EPA select Option 4, the
most protective of the EPA's preferred options, and
instead inserted new, weaker, options into the rule as
" preferred . °144 Suddenly, the rule had four "preferred"
options —three of them the products of the OMB
proce 55,145
To begin with, OMB added options "3a" and "3b ",
which are both weaker than the EPA's original pre-
ferred option .146 Option 3a has no limits for the scrub-
ber sludge discharges that the EPA prepared the
rule to control. Instead, it leaves those limits to the
states —the same states that have failed to set permit
limits for decades —for determination on a case -by-
case basis.147 Option 3b is just as bad: It would require
sludge controls only for plants using scrubbers on
more than 2000 MW of capacity —a group consist-
ing of a very few enormous plants — leaving most
scrubbed plants totally uncontrolled 148 OMB's pre-
ferred options are far weaker than the EPA's. While the
weaker of the EPA's original preferred options would
eliminate 1.623 billion pounds of pollution annually,
OMB's Option 3a would control just about 460 million
pounds of pollution per year, and Option 3b would
control just 914 million pound S.149
Options 3a and 3b are not independently analyzed in
the EPA's technical supporting documents because
Apparently in response to this interference, the EPA
did manage to salvage some of Option 4 by creating
a new Option "4a," which resembles its original Option
4 in requiring bottom ash and leachate treatment, but
which is weakened by exempting plants smaller than
400 MW from the requirement to treat their bottom
ash waste156 That exemption makes a big difference:
While Option 4 would control 3.3 billion pounds of pol-
lution annually, Option 4a would control only 2.6 billion
pounds, a 700 million pound difference .157
The result is that the EPA's original two preferred op-
tions — Option 3 and 4— turned into four preferred
options: Options 3a, 3b, 3, and 4a, three of them the
direct result of the OMB process. All of these rules are
weaker than Option 4, meaning that the proposal has
shifted away from the stringent controls that the EPA
has repeatedly recognized to be available and protec-
tive. If the EPA finalizes any of these lesser options (or
is forced to do so by OMB), it will fail to control billions
of pounds of pollution, possibly for decades to come.
The EPA can still choose to finalize the stronger stan-
dards contained in Options 4 and S. These options
would comply with the letter and spirit of the Clean
Water Act, and are well- supported by the EPA's techni-
cal and scientific analysis. The damage, however, has
still been done: OMB put weaker options on the table
as "preferred" courses of action, and big polluters will
no doubt try to persuade EPA to finalize those dan-
gerously lax proposals. But Americans deserve better.
they were not created by the EPA and are not sup- After thirty -one years of delay, and billions upon bil-
ported by technical analysis: They are political options, lions of pounds of toxic pollution, the public deserves
created to protect industry.l50
Having created new options that are contrary to the
EPA's view of what the best technology is, OMB went
on to rewrite the EPA's proposal, taking positions that
are directly opposed to the expert opinions formerly
expressed by EPA staff. For instance, the EPA had writ-
ten, correctly, that "surface impoundments " — settling
strong, national standards that protect downstream
communities and are based on science —not a weak
rule based on politics.
Closing the Floodgates 13
PART TWO
ALTJ
COAL WATER POLLUTION ACROSS THE COUNTRY
The hundreds of plants lacking permit limits are not
just numbers: Each one puts a waterway at risk. Most
Americans live, work, or play downstream from a coal -
fired power plant, which means we are all at risk from
the failure to control this toxic pollution, and we all can
benefit from finally cleaning it up. A journey to down-
stream communities across the United States reveals
poisoned rivers, imperiled communities, and a net-
work of toxic waste sites that may take years to fully
remediate.
Not surprisingly, the largest coal plants are among the
worst polluters, and yet even these behemoths often
lack real pollution controls.
LABADIE: LEAKS, SEEPS, AND GUSHING
DISCHARGES INTO THE MISSOURI
The huge, approximately 2400 MW, Labadie Power
Station, which sprawls across the Missouri River bot-
toms just upstream of St. Louis, is one of the worst
water polluters in the country.
The Labadie plant, the largest coal power plant in
Missouri, burns huge amounts of coal every day —so
much so that it is the fourth largest greenhouse gas
source in the entire country.lsa The waste from all
that coal —more than half a million tons of it each
year159 —is dumped in two ponds, including a 154 -acre
unlined coal ash pond in use since 1970.760 Fine alluvial
soil under the pond poses little barrier to contami-
nants, which can make their way into nearby wells.
But Ameren, the company that owns the plant, has
yet to conduct comprehensive groundwater testing,
and the state has not required it. The failure to con-
duct groundwater monitoring and testing is particu-
larly troublesome given Ameren's history of danger-
ous leaks from its ash ponds just across the border
in Illinois, where such testing is required. This means
danger and uncertainty for residents since the rural
communities around the plant depend on well water,
and the Missouri River itself is a drinking water source
for St. Louis residents.
Underground leaks are only the beginning of the prob-
lem, though. Amazingly, one of Labadie's ponds was
allowed to leak massive streams of waste for at least
nineteen years.161 The leak spilled up to 35 gallons per
minute —which works out to 50,000 gallons per day,
or about 350 million gallons over the years that it went
uncorrected .162 It took action by concerned citizens,
the Labadie Environmental Organization, and the
Washington University law clinic to compel the com-
pany and the state into finally addressing this river of
waste, at least superficially.
But even that egregious leak is not the biggest of
Labadie's waste problems. The plant dumps far more
waste into the river everyday than it leaks. The ash
pond is allowed to directly dump waste into a trench
leading to the Missouri River, and every day it dumps
25 million gallons or more, on average .163 The plant's
discharge permit was issued in 1994 and has no limits
for any toxic metal in this discharge. In fact, it does not
even require the Labadie plant to monitor for metals in
its ash pond waste .164
That failure doesn't sit well with citizens of the area. As
Christine Alt, the mother of two small children, and a
life -long resident of Labadie, says, "Our family is really
concerned that the leaking ash ponds and massive dis-
charges from the ash ponds are affecting the health of
family members. We have eaten fish from the Missouri
River and local streams that have likely been affected
by the lack of regulation."
Despite these concerns, Missouri has failed to act. The
state has never updated Labadie's permit; it briefly
issued a draft permit in early 2013, but then withdrew
it.165 That wasn't much of a loss: the draft permit was
little better than the old one. The new permit also had
no limits on toxic metals in the ash pond waste stream,
instead requiring quarterly monitoring of boron and
molybdenum, but not of arsenic, mercury, or selenium,
among other toxics in coal ash.166 To make matters
worse, Ameren has proposed to build a new ash landfill
in the floodplain (an area with standing water for much
of the year).
14 Closing the Floodgates
Patricia Schuba, the president of the Labadie
Environmental Organization, describes the threat to
her family, friends, and neighbors this way:
"Families surrounding the Labadie Power
Plant and ash dumps are afraid that decades
of exposure to unmonitored coal waste dump-
ing has increased their risks of cancer, asthma,
auto - immune diseases, cardiovascular dis-
ease, neurological impairment, and premature
death. Why are we dumping toxic waste in our
drinking water and floodplains? Floodplains
are for food production, flood protection, and,
most importantly, filtering our drinking water."
MONROE: SWIMMING IN COAL PLANT WASTE
The town of Monroe, south of Detroit, Michigan, on
Lake Erie, does not really have a waterfront. Instead,
DTE's Plant Monroe cuts the town off from the water,
sitting where the River Raisin flows into the lake. Plant
Monroe, at over 3200 MW, is the ninth worst green-
house gas polluter in the country, and produces coal
waste to match .167 The plant's vast ash ponds stretch
out around it, bordering the lake. Just across the river,
north of the plant, Sterling State Park hosts a popular
swimming beach. Many swimmers also congregate on
a sandbar at the head of the plant's discharge channel
itself, bathing in water flowing out of the ash ponds.
That could be a risky thing to do. Until 2010, Plant
Monroe had no limits on the six toxic metals discussed
in this report, meaning that those metals have flowed
into the lake and its underlying sediments unchecked
for decades.168 Although the plant makes some efforts
to treat its scrubber sludge, its permit requirements are
extremely lax, and ash waste winds up in ponds that
drain to the lake. Only in the last three years has the
state of Michigan added a single limit to the permit169
for mercury, which is an annual rolling limit, rather
than a more stringent daily, or even monthly, limit. The
permit does not even require monitoring for other toxic
metals, including arsenic, selenium, and lead 770
As a result, the plant is authorized to dump 57.5 million
gallons per day of wastewater contaminated by fly ash,
bottom ash, and scrubber sludge into Lake Erie .171 That
water flows by the swimmers on the sandbar, and into
the lake, where others play at the state park. Summer
fun, in Monroe, comes along with coal plant waste.
The largest plants are not the only serious water pol-
luters. The combined pollution of hundreds of plants
in many states also fouls our waters. North Carolina's
toxic burden — caused in significant part by decades
of pollution from Duke Energy power plants — demon-
strates how coal pollution can make its way into river
after river across the country.
Duke Energy operates ten coal- burning power plants
in North Carolina. Three of the state's signature riv-
ers, the Catawba River, the French Broad River and
the Cape Fear River, are seriously affected by pollu-
tion from these coal plants and the ash ponds in their
shadows. The damage extends beyond the waters in
which North Carolinians swim, paddle, and fish; recent
groundwater monitoring revealed that coal ash ponds
are leaking at every single one of these power plants .172
The Catawba River runs along the western edge of the
booming city of Charlotte, providing drinking water
for more than 1.5 million people, stunning recreational
opportunities, and habitat for abundant native spe-
cies, including bald eagles, osprey, and other raptors.
Unfortunately, at least three reservoirs on this river are
heavily polluted by coal ash and scrubber discharges
from Duke Energy power plants.
The trouble begins as the Catawba River flows from
the mountains of western North Carolina into the roll-
ing red clay hills of the piedmont. Lake Norman hosts a
state park, excellent swimming and fishing opportuni-
ties, and Duke Energy's Marshall coal- burning plant.
The four units at the nearly 2000 MW plant burn coal
mined at mountaintop removal sites in Appalachia,
and produce approximately eight million gallons per
day of scrubber sludge and ash water in the process.173
Duke Energy is allowed to dump this wastewater into
Lake Norman with no limits on arsenic or mercury. 174
Lake Norman provides drinking water for many nearby
towns, including Davidson and Mooresville, and this
valuable resource is in jeopardy due to the ash pond at
the Marshall plant and the daily burden of unregulated
coal combustion wastewaters.175
Just a few miles down the Catawba River, another
drinking water reservoir was long used as a pollution
dumping ground for a Duke Energy coal plant. At the
Riverbend Station, which came offline in April of 2013
after years of pollution, coal ash was pumped into two
unlined ash ponds that are leaking toxic metals into
Mountain Island Lake, the sole drinking water source
for more than 800,000 people in the Charlotte area .171,
Although Riverbend is no longer operating, its pollu-
tion remains. Large volumes of coal ash water can still
flow from these ponds into Mountain Island Lake with
no limits on arsenic, selenium, or mercury. Monitoring
for these metals, which might tell the public just how
dangerous these discharges are, is limited to a single
sample done four times a year. 177 The permit requires
testing for these metals in fish tissue concentrations,
but only once in the entire five -year permit term.178 In
Closing the Floodgates 15
May 2013, the state of North Carolina brought a Clean that problem. Levels of selenium in fish tissue are three
Water Act enforcement action against Duke Energy for to five times higher than levels known to result in fish
contamination of Mountain Island Lake caused by the reproductive failure, and are extremely high in fish eggs
seepages from its massive unlined ash pond S.179 and lake sediments 187 Duke Energy has gone so far as
Further down the Catawba River, another Duke Energy to pump additional water into Sutton Lake from the
coal - burning power plant, G.G. Allen, is authorized to
discharge an unlimited amount of coal ash wastewa-
ter into Lake Wylie.180 The massive Allen plant has five
boilers equipped with wet scrubber systems, creating
a large scrubber sludge waste stream. Although the
Allen plant has implemented a treatment system for
the scrubber waste, the permit contains no enforceable
limits on discharges of arsenic, mercury, or other coal
combustion waste metals, so it is impossible to know
whether this treatment system is working as intended.181
The Catawba River has taken enough chronic mistreat-
ment by Duke Energy. Sadly, it is not the only river in
North Carolina damaged by the coal industry.
The Cape Fear River is North Carolina's largest river
basin, with impressive ecological diversity encompass-
ing salt marshes where the river meets the Atlantic,
inland blackwater swamps, and ancient cypress trees.
Just a few miles upstream from the coastal estuar-
ies that provide rich habitat for shellfish, bird life, and
threatened species such as loggerhead and Atlantic
green sea turties,182 the Duke Energy L.V. Sutton power
plant dumps its ash waste into two unlined ponds on
the banks of Sutton Lake, an impoundment of a Cape
Fear tributary. Approximately 160,000 tons of coal
ash is generated each year and stored in these two
pond S.1113 This ash water receives no treatment other
than settling before it is discharged into Sutton Lake,
and the state - issued discharge permit for the Sutton
plant imposes no limits on the concentration of metals
that may be discharged .1114 According to the plant's
own discharge monitoring reports, it discharged 603
pounds of arsenic to the river, along with 526 pounds
of selenium in 2012 alone.
Fish in the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Cape
Fear River contain dangerous levels of mercury, and res-
idents and tourists are warned not to consume them,las
The river below the Sutton Plant violates water quality
standards for nickel and copper, and is unsafe for har-
vesting aquatic life186 Sutton Lake, and which is required
by the state to be managed as a public fishery, is a
very popular sportfishing lake, especially during winter
months when the water is kept warm by the plant's
cooling water discharges. Unfortunately, in recent years
the largemouth bass population in the lake has fluctu-
ated wildly, and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources
Commission has identified selenium contamination
from the coal ash ponds as a significant contributor to
Cape Fear River to dilute additional discharges from the
ash ponds so that metals like selenium will be less likely
to accumulate in fish tissues .188
Although Duke Energy is in the process of converting
the Sutton plant to run on natural gas rather than coal,
the risks posed by these coal ash ponds will persist
unless the ponds are properly closed and cleaned up.
Leaks from the ponds into groundwater have been thor-
oughly documented —the groundwater in the vicinity of
the plant and the riverbed is already contaminated with
arsenic, iron, boron, barium, manganese and other met-
als and salts 189 Moreover, the sediments at the bottom
of Sutton Lake are heavily contaminated with selenium
that will continue to taint the fish population for de-
cades to come. Simply capping the ponds and stop-
ping discharges to Lake Sutton is far from an adequate
solution. There is currently no plan for how this massive
source of coal ash pollution will be cleaned up.
In the meantime, Sutton Lake and Cape Fear River
bear the burden, along with nearby residents who
must live with the severe health risks associated with
the plant's toxic discharges. Seeking to address illegal
pollution at Sutton, citizen groups initiated enforce-
ment proceedings against Duke in June of 2013.190
From the Catawba to the Cape Fear, and from the
ocean to the mountains, North Carolinians bear the
burden of Duke Energy's waste. Their plight is not
unusual.
The rivers of North Carolina are not alone in carrying a
toxic burden. Across the country, citizens are in similar
straits. Many of the nation's watersheds are imperiled
by water pollution from coal power plants.
THE ILLINOIS RIVER:
PRAIRIE STREAM UNDER PRESSURE
The Illinois River, flowing southwest across farmland
and prairie from near Chicago to the Mississippi, was
once one of the healthiest rivers in the United States,
supporting migrating waterfowl, and huge populations
of fish and mussels.191 Today, at least 10 coal -fired pow-
er plants dump millions of gallons per day of contami-
nated waste into the river and its tributaries, and the
river is suffering. The state of Illinois has formally listed
the river as impaired by mercury pollution, and advises
its citizens to be wary of eating fish from the river. 112
16 Closing the Floodgates
Despite these warnings, Illinois has not required coal and the Joliet 29 facility adds another 2.6 million gal -
plants to eliminate their toxic metal discharges, or Ions per day.201 The Will County Plant, located on the
even to consistently monitor them. Of the 10 coal -fired Chicago Sanitary & Ship Canal, adds almost another
power plants on the Illinois and its tributaries, only million gallons per day of ash - contaminated waste .202
two of them have numeric limits for boron; none of Further downstream, Midwest Generation's Powerton
them have mercury limits, much less limits for arsenic,
selenium, cadmium, lead, or other toxic substances
found in coal ash and scrubber sludge .193 Indeed, not
all of these plants are even required to monitor their
discharges for mercury, and only one of them monitors
for arsenic. Most of these rogue plants are owned by
just two companies: Dynegy /Ameren794 and Midwest
Generation.
Dynegy /Ameren plants on the Illinois River or its tribu-
taries (including the Des Plaines River and the Chicago
Area Waterway System) include the E.D. Edwards and
Havana facilities. The Illinois River passes by Hennepin,
receives discharges from the E.D. Edwards facility at
Peoria, and then gets another dose of ash- contaminat-
ed water downstream at Havana. None of these plants
have limits for their discharges of mercury and other
ash contaminants.
Illinois has not put a ceiling on the volume of waste
these plants can discharge, or the concentration of
toxic metals in those wastes. At the upstream end, the
Hennepin plant reports that it may dump as much as
three million gallons of fly -ash and bottom -ash waste
into the river (though there is no upper limit on how
much it may discharge).195 There are no limits on what
toxic metals may be in the waste, and the company
doesn't have to test for most of them. At best the facil-
ity is to monitor for mercury in a single "grab" sample
from its millions of gallons of waste, once every three
months.796 The E.D. Edwards plant, next downstream,
has an 89 -acre, 32- foot -high unlined coal ash pond
located dangerously close to the Illinois River and just
upstream from recreation areas where families gather,
including Pekin Lake and fishing sites along both sides
of the river. That plant reports that it can discharge
more than 4 million gallons per day of ash pond waste-
water, containing a mixture of fly -ash and bottom ash -
contaminated waste .197 That plant was required to moni-
tor only for mercury on a monthly basis, and only had to
do that 12 times before stopping indefinitely.1911 Further
downstream, the Havana plant dumps at least another
2.8 million gallons per day of ash waste from its ash
ponds into the river even further downstream —once
plant — near Pekin, just south of Peoria — can dump
7 million gallons per day or more of its ash- contam-
inated wastes into the Illinois River itself.203 There's
no telling exactly what is in that wastewater because
the company is not even required to monitor for toxic
metals, including arsenic and mercury, which are con-
tained in coal ash waste .211 Leaks from Powerton's ash
ponds add to the problem: Midwest Generation's own
monitoring at Powerton shows hundreds of test re-
ports documenting leaking toxics such as arsenic and
selenium that are contaminating groundwater at levels
exceeding federal and state standards. In 2012, the
Illinois EPA issued Notices of Violation for ground wa-
ter contamination after testing of wells showed numer-
ous exceedances of heavy metals including arsenic and
selenium. Several environmental organizations such as
the Sierra Club, Environmental Integrity Project, and
Prairie Rivers Network filed suit over many of the same
violations of groundwater standards and violations of
the state's "open dumping" Iaw205 Incredibly, the plant
sits just upstream of the Powerton Lake State Fish &
Wildlife Area '206 a state - managed reservoir that experi-
ences heavy fishing pressure from the public despite
its double use as a receptacle for cooling waters and
the power plant's wastewater.
All this pollution affects people up and down the river.
Joyce Blumenshine, for instance, lives near the Peoria
plants, and worries about what's happening to her
river.
"The tons of pollutants 'these power plants
are putting in our river every year have to be
stopped," she says. "Dumping pollution into
our river ;s antiquated. I live in Peoria and half
of our water supply is withdrawn from there.
The public and wildlife depend on the Illinois
River. There is scientific information now on
how small amounts of these heavy metals can
harm public health, especially for children,.
We need to require that these power plants
stop using the Illinois River as a dump for their
pollution."
Robin Garlish, who lives near the Powerton plant in the
community of Pekin, also wants to see the pollution
again without even monitoring for most metals.199 stop. She says
Midwest Generation, meanwhile, owns four plants
dumping into the Illinois River and its tributaries:
Upstream of the Illinois River, Midwest Generation's
Joliet 9 facility reports it can discharge close to 7
million gallons per day of ash - contaminated water 211
"lvly family moved here to the Peoria area
in 1986. It is a beautiful area with the bluffs,
trails. and the Illinois River. We own a campsite
along the river and have spent every summer
camping and boating along the water i have
Closing the Floodgates 17
photographs of my son learning to waterski
in the river, with the E.D. Edwards coal plant
looming in the background. l never knew the
millions of gallons of pollution that were be-
ing discharged into the river every single day
Where were the warning signs ?"
Ms. Garlish has questions: "As spring and summer ap-
proach, I wonder if it will be safe for my family to enjoy
the outdoors? Will we be able to enjoy camping and
water sports on our boat without fear of pollution in
the water ?"
THE BLACK WARRIOR RIVER: TOXIC METALS IN
ALABAMA'S WATERWAYS
Every year when the long, hot days of summer arrive
in Alabama, anglers come from miles around to fish
Bankhead Lake, a reservoir on the Black Warrior River
near Birmingham that is known for spotted and large-
mouth bass. These anglers may not know that nearby,
two massive Alabama Power Company power plants,
Plant Miller and Plant Gorgas, are constantly pumping
their coal ash refuse and scrubber sludge into huge
waste lagoons next to the lake. Further downstream in
Greene County, a third plant dumps even more pollu-
tion into the river. Alabama Power is allowed to dump
almost unlimited amounts of toxic wastewater from its
coal ash lagoons straight into Bankhead Lake, a public
drinking water source for the city of Birmingham and
surrounding areas. The largest of these Black Warrior
River power plants, the Miller Generating Station,
dumped more toxic ash into its ash pond than any
other plant in the country in 2010. Waste from the
Miller ash pond flows right into Bankhead Lake, con-
taminating the water downstream where people often
go boating and fishing.207
The two plants that dump their wastewater into
Bankhead Lake are both owned by a subsidiary of the
multi - billion dollar Southern Company, but Southern
has resisted any investment in cleaning up its ash
pollution at these two plants. In 2010, Alabama plants
dumped more dangerous heavy metals into their ash
ponds than any other plants in the country: more
than 14 million pounds of toxic waste.211 The Miller
plant alone was responsible for more than five million
pounds of that waste, making it the biggest ash pol-
luter in the country that year.209 Plant Gorgas was the
15th worst out of hundreds of coal -fired power plants
nationwide.210
Despite this pollution, the state of Alabama does not
require these plants to monitor for numerous toxic
heavy metals typically discharged into the Black
Warrior, much less to control them. Miller ordinar-
ily discharges at least eight million gallons per day of
polluted water from its toxic ash pond into the Locust
Fork of the Black Warrior, though its discharges can be
much greater .211 Its permit does not require monitoring
or have discharge limitations for poisons like arsenic,
mercury, and lead .211 But even though Alabama doesn't
know exactly what is in the wastewater from Miller,
pollution from this power plant is having an impact.
Some of those impacts are easy to see: The rocks from
the water below the discharge are blanketed with a
hard white gunk that cements them together .213 Other
impacts, like the toxic metals that are likely building up
in the river system, are harder to see but no less real.
The same story is happening over on the Mulberry
Fork, where Plant Gorgas dumps its millions of gal-
lons of waste into a huge pond euphemistically named
"Rattlesnake Lake ."211 The venom that lurks in that
"lake" flows into the river, at an average volume of 20
million gallons per day. That plant does have a monthly
(but not a stringent daily) limit on arsenic pollution,
but lacks any limits or monitoring for selenium, mercu-
ry, lead, thallium, cadmium, or many other toxic heavy
metals found in coal waste .215
The Black Warrior is not free from coal plant pollution
further downstream, either. After leaving Bankhead
Lake and passing by Tuscaloosa, the river winds
through small towns and farm country where, near the
town of Demopolis, Alabama Power's Greene County
plant sits. It, too, has been among the dirtiest plants in
the country based on its dumping of toxic coal ash in
some years,216 and it lacks limits on toxics other than a
lenient, monthly average arsenic limit.217
As we discuss elsewhere in this report, metals pollution
stays in rivers. It makes its way into the sediment, and
then into the fish and the other creatures using the
water — including the people. The Black Warrior is an
Alabama treasure, flowing from the sandstone gorges
of northern Alabama through the old fishing spots and
reservoirs around Birmingham and Tuscaloosa, and out
into the lowlands of the Gulf Coast. It's time to treat
the river like the treasure it is, and keep the millions of
gallons of coal ash - tainted wastewater from Alabama
Power's plants out of it.
Coal plants with water pollution problems are often
located in communities of color and communities with
lower- than - average incomes. Members of these com-
munities are often more dependent on fishing for food
than the national average, meaning that contaminated
18 Closing the Floodgates
water and fish are a particularly serious threat, ac-
cording to the EPA's National Environmental Justice
Advisory Counci1.2111 Several plants across the country
illustrate this troubling national failure.
WAUKEGAN: INDUSTRIAL POLLUTION ON THE LAKE
The city of Waukegan, on the coast of Lake Michigan
north of Chicago, is a working class city with a proud
industrial heritage. With large Hispanic and African -
American communities, Waukegan has a diverse
population and an enviable location on Lake Michigan.
Unfortunately, its industrial history has left it with seri-
ous pollution problems that coal -fired power is making
worse.
That legacy of pollution includes a Superfund site in
Waukegan's harbor due to severe PCB contamina-
tion —the residue of a manufacturing business.279 That
PCB contamination alone makes fish from certain parts
of the city's lakefront unsafe to ea t,220 but it is not the
only water quality problem the city faces. Another
lurks just along the coast from downtown, at Midwest
Generation's Waukegan Generating Station, an aging
coal power plant whose first units began operating
in the 1920s and whose current boilers are more than
fifty years old .221
According to a recent NAACP report, the Waukegan
plant is one of the worst environmental justice of-
fenders in the nation .222 People of color comprise 72
percent of the population within three miles of the
plant, and the average income of that community is
just over $16,000 per year .221 Schools and a hospital
located near the plant must contend with its pollution,
which causes tens of millions of dollars' worth of public
health harm every year .224
The Waukegan power plant's ash ponds sit just off the
shoreline of the lake, and are responsible for serious
groundwater contamination. According to the state,
"[g]roundwater flow" is "highly dependent on the wa-
ter level in the ash ponds," meaning that contaminants
from the ponds appear to be flowing into the ground-
water .225 In 2012, the Illinois Environmental Protection
Agency issued the plant a Notice of Violation for viola-
tions of arsenic, boron, manganese, iron, sulfate, chlo-
ride, total dissolved solids, pH, and antimony standards
in groundwater near the ponds, concluding that the
violations had been caused by waste leaking from the
ash pond S.226 Several environmental organizations such
as the Sierra Club, Environmental Integrity Project, and
Prairie Rivers Network filed suit over many of the same
violations of groundwater standards and violations of
the state's "open dumping" law.22'
Yet, even as the state of Illinois begins to address
leaks in the ash ponds, it continues to allow contami-
nated water in those ponds to flow directly into Lake
Michigan. Waukegan's discharge permit, which is more
than a decade old, sets only copper and iron limits for
the 3.2 million gallons per day of ash - contaminated
waste which Waukegan is authorized to discharge,
failing to set any limits for poisons like arsenic, mercu-
ry, and selenium.228 A more recent draft permit, issued
for public comment in late 2013 repeats this mistake,
again setting no limits on the toxic heavy metals in
Waukegan's ash waste stream.229 Yet the plant is clear-
ly a large water pollution source: Waukegan reported
to the EPA that it discharged more than 1,000 pounds
of chemicals listed on the Toxic Release Inventory into
surface waters near the plant ever year between 2002
and 2010.230 Because Waukegan is not even required
to monitor toxic metal discharges, actual figures may
be higher.
This water pollution is only part of the plant's toxic
legacy. The plant emitted more than 11,000 tons per
year of asthma - causing sulfur dioxide (SO2) between
2007 and 2010, and has yet to clean up its air pollu-
tion. Midwest Generation has said it will clean up this
pollution, but even that may not be good news for the
people of Waukegan. For one thing, the company will
likely use "Dry Sorbent Injection" to address SO2 pol-
lution, a technology whose waste can greatly increase
the solubility and mobility of toxics in coal ash, includ-
ing arsenic and selenium.23' If that waste winds up in
Waukegan's ash, the plant's discharges will be all the
more potent.
NORTH OMAHA & RIVER ROUGE: VULNERABLE
COMMUNITIES AND LAX PERMITS
Other power plants on the NAACP's worst offenders
list follow this dangerous pattern of neglect, includ-
ing the North Omaha plant in Nebraska and the River
Rouge plant in Michigan. Although these plants may
opt to ship their ash elsewhere (where it may harm
other communities), their permits continue to allow di-
rect discharges into nearby waterways. There is no rea-
son these permits should allow unchecked dumping.
The North Omaha power plant, on the NAACP's list of
the worst environmental justice offenders '232 is located
in a predominantly African - American community with
an asthma rate of 20 percent. It is an old, poorly -regu-
lated facility, with some parts of the plant dating back
to the 1950s.233 The plant emits more than 300 pounds
of mercury each year. Of the 51 coal plants located in
cities the size of Omaha or bigger, the North Omaha
plant is the single biggest mercury emitter .234
Closing the Floodgates 19
The plant's legacy of air pollution, asthma, and mer-
cury poisoning is compounded by serious permitting
failures with regard to water pollution. Although the
plant's owner, the Omaha Public Power District, says
it now sends its ash off -site for dry storage, the state's
water permit for the plant allows it to send water from
its bottom ash and coal pile runoff ponds straight into
the Missouri River, not far from the city's water in-
takes .235 The plant is only required to monitor for toxic
substances, including mercury and arsenic, once a
year .236 There are no limits on how much of these toxic
metals it can discharge .237
Nebraska does not need more water pollution. Already,
73 waterbodies in Nebraska are already so con-
taminated with mercury that the state has warned
people about eating fish from them .238 The non - profit
Environmental Working Group has already rated
Omaha's drinking water as among the worst in the
country, based on its chemical content and safety.239
Any bottom ash waste from the North Omaha plant
will only add to these problems. There is no reason to
continue to allow the plant to dispose of any ash -con-
taminated wastewater in the Missouri River.
DTE's River Rouge Plant, on the Detroit River, also
has an unduly lax permit. The plant is one of many
huge industrial facilities —from oil refineries to steel
plants —that dot the banks in River Rouge near Detroit
The cumulative pollution from all these facilities fouls
the air and water for many communities along the
river. The River Rouge Plant, though, stands out as a
particularly serious pollution source in its own right.
The smokestacks of the River Rouge plant rise directly
behind a playground, on the banks of the river. Two -
thirds of people living near the plant are minorities,
and their income is barely above half of the aver-
age income in Michigan .240 Over 1.6 million pounds of
hazardous chemicals are released in the River Rouge
community every year by the many heavy industrial
facilities there .241
Water pollution from the plant could add to this bur-
den, thanks to a weak permit. The River Rouge Plant is
authorized to discharge more than 654 million gallons
per day of wastewater into the river .242 The permit lists
"treated bottom ash transport water" and "treated
coal pile runoff" as constituents of this wastewater
flow— though it is not clear how much of this pollu-
tion is in the wastewater, and there are no limits and
no monitoring required for arsenic, selenium, mercury,
boron, or other constituents of ash waste .243
Although some large portion of the ash may be taken
offsite and dumped elsewhere, this permissive permit
is yet another danger for residents of the River Rouge.
Indeed, according to the Detroit Riverkeeper'244 at least
some of this bottom ash is not travelling far: It is being
dumped next to the river not far south of the River
Rouge at another DTE Energy plant, Trenton Channel.
Many citizens of the River Rouge community and
surrounding towns fish the Detroit River." -' People of
color go fishing more often, according to a University
of Michigan study, and they are more likely to take fish
home for food .216 Not all of these fish are safe to eat:
The state of Michigan warns against eating sturgeon
and freshwater drum because of mercury contamina-
tion, for instance, and has issued a blanket warning
against eating most other fish in the river .247
The bottom line is that coal waste has no place any-
where near the water people depend upon, and regu-
lators need to make sure that these power plants can
never release their waste into the public's waterways.
River Rouge's and North Omaha's dangerously lax
permits, and the ongoing pollution from the Waukegan
plant, are just one more injustice in communities al-
ready overburdened with environmental threats.
Without new water pollution protections, efforts to
clean the air will transfer air pollutants into the water
as scrubber sludge.
Nobody should be asked to make a tradeoff between
clean air and clean water. Technologies exist that en-
able coal plants to reduce the amount of metals in
their scrubber waste streams and eliminate all dis-
charges of this waste stream to surface water '248 but
very few plants currently use these systems. Instead
they discharge scrubber wastewater to rivers and lakes
after the most minimal treatment. Scrubbed plants in
Pennsylvania and North Carolina illustrate the magni-
tude of the problem.
A prime example of the risks posed to the nation's wa-
ters by uncontrolled discharge of wet scrubber waste-
water is the Bruce Mansfield plant in Shippingport,
Pennsylvania. This massive 2740 MW plant, operated
by FirstEnergy, has three boilers equipped with wet
scrubbers to reduce sulfur dioxide air pollution, and
a wet handling system for bottom ash and fly ash.
For many years, FirstEnergy has sent all of the scrub-
ber wastewater and ash handling water through a
seven -mile pipeline to the Little Blue Run Coal Ash
Impoundment —the largest unlined ash pond in the
United States.249 In 2011, FirstEnergy dumped 79,500
pounds of arsenic and 26,190 pounds of selenium
into that impoundment.251 These pollutants and other
20 Closing the Floodgates
toxic metals such as boron and molybdenum are
then dumped into Little Blue Run Stream and Mill
Creek, ultimately making their way to the Ohio River.
Pennsylvania regulators have identified Little Blue Run,
Mill Creek and stretches of the Ohio River as water-
ways that are not safe for aquatic life due to siltation,
pH and metals.251 Pennsylvania officials have advised
community members to limit their consumption of fish
caught in the Ohio River, in part due to concerns about
heightened levels of mercury.252
The Bruce Mansfield plant operates under an expired
NPDES permit that imposes no discharge limits or
monitoring requirements for any of these metals where
water enters Little Blue Run Stream and Mill Creek.253
FirstEnergy's own monitoring reports reveal concentra-
tions of boron at the Little Blue Run Stream surface
water monitoring station location immediately down-
stream of the impoundment discharge (SW -3) higher
than the chronic Pennsylvania water quality criterion
for boron in all quarters between 2006 and 2012.254
During this same time period, concentrations of boron
even exceeded the acute Pennsylvania water quality
criterion for boron at SW -3 in 9 of 22 quarters.255 And
in the one quarter of available data for selenium from
SW -3 in the last five years, selenium exceeded the
chronic Pennsylvania water quality criterion.256 Notably,
FirstEnergy is not required to monitor for all coal
ash and scrubber sludge pollution at this monitoring
location.
Outraged by the water contamination at Little Blue
Run, the community organized to fight an expan-
sion of the disposal site and filed a lawsuit under the
Clean Water Act. In response, Pennsylvania regulators
have required closure of the leaking impoundment
by 2016 and some cleanup of seeps and ground-
water. FirstEnergy now plans to transport coal ash
and scrubber wastewater nearly 100 miles upriver
on thousands of uncovered barges per year to an-
other unlined, active coal ash dumpsite in LaBelle,
Pennsylvania.251 La Belle's groundwater and surface
water are already contaminated by leaks from this
coal ash dump, and because many of the working
class residents of that town hunt for food, they are
also exposed to bio- accumulating metals such as
selenium through what they eat.2511
The incredible volume and toxicity of wastewater
generated by the scrubbers at the Bruce Mansfield
plant demands close scrutiny and careful handling, but
Pennsylvania permitting authorities have not imposed
any limits or required any kind of effective treatment
to protect the Ohio. Shifting the problem to a different
community upriver is no solution.
Another plant that already barges its coal ash waste
to LaBelle is the 50 -year old Mitchell Power Station
near New Eagle, Pennsylvania. In July 2013 FirstEnergy
announced plants to retire the Mitchell plant, but the
facility has been polluting local waterways for decades.
The Mitchell plant has a wet scrubber system and
discharges scrubber wastewater into the Monongahela
River several miles upstream from the intake for the
Pennsylvania- American Water Company. The "Mon,"
as it is affectionately known by thousands of residents
along its length, flows out of the mountains of West
Virginia and joins the Ohio River in Pittsburgh. This
river is the heart of southwestern Pennsylvania, the en-
gine of the region's economic growth for hundreds of
years, and the source of drinking water for more than
800,000 people. Sadly, a legacy of abandoned mines
and uncontrolled industrial discharges means that for
most of the river's length, water quality is not safe for
drinking and recreation .2-19
The Mitchell plant's water discharge permit expired in
1996— nearly 20 years ago. It is perhaps not surpris-
ing then, that this permit utterly fails to protect the
Monongahela from the toxic wastewater produced by
the Mitchell plant and its wet scrubber system. The
outfall that sends the plant's scrubber wastewater into
the Monongahela has no limits on metals commonly
found in coal combustion wastes, nor any monitoring
requirements.260 Another outfall at the Mitchell plant
dumps leachate from an ash landfill into Peters Creek,
a tributary of the Monongahela. While the Mitchell
plant's expired permit requires monitoring of boron
and aluminum discharges, the permit imposes no limit
on the amount of these metals that can be discharged
into Peters Creek .2',' The EPA's proposed rule final-
ized in its strongest form would require the operator
to significantly reduce metals concentrations in this
discharge stream rather than merely monitor those
pollutants.
The approximately 400 MW Asheville plant, on North
Carolina's French Broad River, provides a test case for
how a wet scrubber system increases the toxicity of a
coal plant's wastewater discharges. In 2005 and 2006,
Duke Energy added wet scrubbers to the two units
at the Asheville plant for sulfur dioxide control. The
wastewater from the scrubbers is treated in an onsite
artificial wetland, and then sent to a holding pond
where it is mixed with fly ash and bottom ash handling
waters. The wastewater permit allows the Asheville
plant to dump from this holding pond into the French
Broad River with no limits on the metals commonly
found in scrubber sludge and coal ash wastewaters,
Closing the Floodgates 21
other than mercury."' According to the plant's own
reporting, it discharged 324 pounds of arsenic and 564
pounds of selenium in 2012.263
The only way to understand how well the artificial
wetland treatment system is working is a monitoring
program of toxic metals where the ash pond dumps
into the French Broad —just a single sample taken
once a month 264 In fact, the water pollution problem at
Asheville has significantly worsened since the scrub-
bers were added. A study done by scientists at Duke
University compared pollutant load in the ash pond
discharge at Asheville before and after the wet scrub-
bers began operating, and found that the amount of
pollutants such as arsenic and selenium discharged to
the French Broad River dramatically increased after
the scrubbers were installed .26-5 The study reported
that samples collected during the summer of 2011 from
mingled scrubber and coal ash waste flowing to the
French Broad River contained arsenic at levels four
times higher than the EPA drinking water standard,
and selenium levels 17 times higher the agency's stan-
dard for aquatic life. Cadmium, antimony, and thallium
were also detected in the wastewaters at levels above
human and aquatic life benchmarks .266
Clearly, more must be done to reduce pollution from
the Asheville scrubber system. The EPA has identi-
fied treatment methods that can eliminate or at least
achieve much lower levels of toxic metals from scrub-
ber waste streams, and must apply them to all coal -
burning plants with scrubber systems, including rela-
tively small plants like Asheville that have an outsized
impact on a treasured river.
The crisis of groundwater and surface water contami-
nation by uncontrolled discharges of toxic metals is
not limited to the wetter eastern half of our coun-
try. The waters of the western United States are also
burdened by these toxic discharges, which is all the
more troubling considering the scarcity of water in the
region and the rapidly growing population. Plants in
Colorado and Montana illustrate the problem of coal
water pollution in the West.
The Xcel Comanche plant in Pueblo, Colorado, has
three large coal- burning boilers. Two of these boilers
were built in the 1970s, and the third was built in 2010.
All of the boilers burn coal brought in from massive
strip mines in Wyoming, producing more than 300,000
tons of coal ash in a single year .267 The plant uses a wet
ash handling system to collect fly ash and bottom ash
and then moves this coal ash water through a series
of three settling pond S.2611 Despite evidence that ash
handling water contains significant amounts of toxic
metals and solids, there are no limits on any of these
metals in the wastewater discharged into the small St.
Charles River .219 The lack of limits on selenium dis-
charges is even more appalling considering that the St.
Charles is impaired for selenium, meaning that the river
is not meeting water quality standards for this pollut-
ant.270 Within a few miles of the Comanche plant, the
St. Charles flows into the Arkansas River, and that por-
tion of the Arkansas River is also failing to meet water
quality standards for selenium and sulfates .271
The water discharge permit for the Comanche plant
requires monitoring for some metals at the main ash
outfall, but imposes no limits on the concentrations
of those metals in the discharge .272 While monitor-
ing is an important first step, uncontrolled discharge
of these metals into an impaired stream is danger-
ous and contrary to the Clean Water Act. Once a
waterbody is designated as impaired, the state must
determine the "total maximum daily load" (TMDL) of
the particular pollutant that the waterbody is able to
absorb and still comply with water quality standards.
However, the state of Colorado has not yet developed
a TMDL for selenium in the St. Charles River or in the
Arkansas River downstream of the confluence with
the St. Charles, and is allowing the Comanche plant to
discharge coal ash wastewaters into this impaired river
with no limits at all on selenium.
The Arkansas River is a major fly- fishing destina-
tion in Colorado, and a source of tourism income and
recreation for area residents. Because high levels of
selenium severely impairs reproduction in fish, sele-
nium limits must be imposed on major sources like
Comanche so that the St. Charles and Arkansas Rivers
can continue to support abundant fish populations.
Moreover, water resources in this part of Colorado are
incredibly precious, especially considering the excep-
tional drought the area is now experiencing. These riv-
ers should be treated like the indispensable resources
they are.
Another prime fishing destination, the Yellowstone
River in Montana, is also threatened by coal ash
discharges. The Yellowstone runs for more than 500
22 Closing the Floodgates
These plants are just examples: All across the country,
scrubbers are going in and increased water pollu-
tion follows, without efforts to tighten permit limits.
Smokestack scrubbers are good news for the air,
and they can be good news for the water, too, if the
EPA puts strong controls in place for treatment of
this waste. No community should have its watershed
contaminated by the same pollution that it once was
forced to breathe.
'
6. POLLUTING
The crisis of groundwater and surface water contami-
nation by uncontrolled discharges of toxic metals is
not limited to the wetter eastern half of our coun-
try. The waters of the western United States are also
burdened by these toxic discharges, which is all the
more troubling considering the scarcity of water in the
region and the rapidly growing population. Plants in
Colorado and Montana illustrate the problem of coal
water pollution in the West.
The Xcel Comanche plant in Pueblo, Colorado, has
three large coal- burning boilers. Two of these boilers
were built in the 1970s, and the third was built in 2010.
All of the boilers burn coal brought in from massive
strip mines in Wyoming, producing more than 300,000
tons of coal ash in a single year .267 The plant uses a wet
ash handling system to collect fly ash and bottom ash
and then moves this coal ash water through a series
of three settling pond S.2611 Despite evidence that ash
handling water contains significant amounts of toxic
metals and solids, there are no limits on any of these
metals in the wastewater discharged into the small St.
Charles River .219 The lack of limits on selenium dis-
charges is even more appalling considering that the St.
Charles is impaired for selenium, meaning that the river
is not meeting water quality standards for this pollut-
ant.270 Within a few miles of the Comanche plant, the
St. Charles flows into the Arkansas River, and that por-
tion of the Arkansas River is also failing to meet water
quality standards for selenium and sulfates .271
The water discharge permit for the Comanche plant
requires monitoring for some metals at the main ash
outfall, but imposes no limits on the concentrations
of those metals in the discharge .272 While monitor-
ing is an important first step, uncontrolled discharge
of these metals into an impaired stream is danger-
ous and contrary to the Clean Water Act. Once a
waterbody is designated as impaired, the state must
determine the "total maximum daily load" (TMDL) of
the particular pollutant that the waterbody is able to
absorb and still comply with water quality standards.
However, the state of Colorado has not yet developed
a TMDL for selenium in the St. Charles River or in the
Arkansas River downstream of the confluence with
the St. Charles, and is allowing the Comanche plant to
discharge coal ash wastewaters into this impaired river
with no limits at all on selenium.
The Arkansas River is a major fly- fishing destina-
tion in Colorado, and a source of tourism income and
recreation for area residents. Because high levels of
selenium severely impairs reproduction in fish, sele-
nium limits must be imposed on major sources like
Comanche so that the St. Charles and Arkansas Rivers
can continue to support abundant fish populations.
Moreover, water resources in this part of Colorado are
incredibly precious, especially considering the excep-
tional drought the area is now experiencing. These riv-
ers should be treated like the indispensable resources
they are.
Another prime fishing destination, the Yellowstone
River in Montana, is also threatened by coal ash
discharges. The Yellowstone runs for more than 500
22 Closing the Floodgates
miles through the heart of the state, providing drink-
ing water for its cities, irrigation for farms, and superior
fishing opportunities. As the river approaches Billings,
it flattens out, warms up, and provides excellent warm -
water angling for walleye, northern pike, and catfish.
Indeed, a large stretch of the river downstream of the
J.E. Corette plant is classified as a blue ribbon stream
for fishing. This stretch of the Yellowstone River brings
substantial tourism revenue to the region through
duck- and goose- hunting outfitters and trips to
Pompey's Pillar National Monument, a sandstone bluff
on the banks of the river bearing the engraved signa-
ture of Captain William Clark, of the Lewis and Clark
expedition.
Unfortunately, the Yellowstone is contaminated by
ash pond discharges from the Corette power plant,
operated by Pennsylvania Power & Light's Montana
subsidiary, PPL Montana. The Corette plant burns a rail
train car full of Wyoming coal every hour '273 produc-
ing approximately 32,000 tons of bottom ash each
year, containing 38 tons of heavy metals274 The bot-
tom ash water is stored onsite in ponds before being
discharged to the Yellowstone without any limits on
any toxics or metals that may be contained in that
bottom ash water. The Montana Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System permit —which is eight years over-
due for renewal— imposes limits only on oil and grease,
and total suspended solid S.27-1
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality has
assessed the Yellowstone River upstream and down-
stream of the Corette plant. This entire section of the
Yellowstone has been deemed not suitable for aquatic
life and primary contact recreation, such as swim -
ming.276 Below the Corette plant, the river does not
meet water quality standards for arsenic, rendering the
river unsuitable as a drinking water supply. Although
Montana DEQ attributes the arsenic impairment to
natural causes, the section of the river that is impaired
begins right around the Corette plan t,277 which is re-
leasing untreated bottom ash wastewater —known to
contain arsenic — directly into the river.
The Yellowstone River provides drinking water and
irrigation supply for millions of acres of farmland
downstream of Billings. Contamination of the river with
arsenic and other coal ash constituents increases treat-
ment costs for drinking water, and degrades one of
Montana's most treasured resources.
Hundreds of coal waste ponds, holding millions of
pounds of toxic ash and scrubber sludge, dot the
country, posing a real and present danger to public
health .2711 Over a hundred of these sites have been
shown to have damaged groundwater resources, and
this known damage is probably just the tip of the ice-
berg .279 The EPA's proposed coal water pollution rules
could, if finalized in their strongest form, stop compa-
nies from dumping any more waste into these ponds.
But even if they do, the ponds themselves will remain
an ever - present threat to communities across America.
The EPA can and should begin to fix this problem by
stopping continuing use of the ponds, but waste rules,
focused on pond closure, will ultimately be needed to
solve it.
Nowhere is this pressing problem clearer than among
the plants of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).
TVA has continued to use aging ponds throughout its
system despite causing the biggest coal ash spill in
U.S. history in December 2008, when a dredge cell at
its ash pond complex at TVA's Kingston, Tennessee,
plant failed, spilling roughly 5.4 million cubic yards of
ash into the Emory River and burying 26 homes.280
According to TVA's own Inspector General, TVA might
have been able to prevent the spill had it heeded de-
cades of warning about the pond's stability.281 A federal
court recently held TVA liable for its careless failure
to protect the public.282 Recovery at Kingston slowly
continues, with formal cleanup activities recently
concluding, but the waters around the plant remain
contaminated, with ash remaining in sediment at the
river bottom.
One might think TVA and the state regulators watch-
ing over its plants would have learned from this experi-
ence. But change has been slow in coming. Incredibly,
the State of Tennessee continues to allow TVA to
discharge waste from Kingston to the river without
any permit limits for dangerous metals in the ash and
scrubber sludge at the site .183
This cavalier attitude toward coal ash is the rule, not
the exception. The TVA Inspector General reports
that TVA's internal culture was "resistant to treating
ash management as much more than taking out the
garbage," failing to treat it like the hazardous waste
that it really is.284 State regulators have been just as lax.
Although independent structural engineers have found
substantial seeps and leaks at the majority of TVA's
remaining ash pond S,2115 TVA has not closed its ponds,
and state regulators continue to allow the ponds
Closing the Floodgates 23
to dump their wastes into rivers through permitted
discharges.
These plants include TVA's Colbert facility in north-
ern Alabama, where bright orange, toxic - filled, leaks
from the ash ponds are flowing into a tributary of the
Tennessee River, prompting concerned citizens to start
legal proceedings against TVA for its carelessness .186
In addition to its unpermitted leaks, Colbert is actually
authorized by the state of Alabama to dump ash pond
waste through a pipe right into a stream, with no limits
on heavy metals.287 Another permitted wastewater out -
fall discharges into the Tennessee River within about
fifty feet of a county drinking water intake. (Although
TVA has recently indicated that it will remove Colbert
from service in 2016, those discharges may continue
for years afterwards, unless TVA properly closes the
plant's dangerous ash ponds.)
Permitted dumping is going on throughout the TVA
system, including at TVA's Gallatin Plant, which is just
upriver of Nashville and discharges wastes from its
ponds into a popular reservoir, Old Hickory Lake.26e
TVA's Shawnee Plant sends nearly 20 million gallons
per day of ash - fouled water into the Ohio River near
Paducah, Kentucky, without limits on any toxic heavy
meta 1.289 The Allen Plant in Memphis disposes of some
ash offsite, but is still authorized to send its millions
of gallons of ash ponds waste into the Mississippi
River, again with no permit limits on toxic metals.290
Discharge reports from many other TVA plants show
levels of mercury and selenium, among other poisons,
well above water quality standard S.291
These permitted discharges need to stop, and the
EPA's Clean Water Act rules can stop them. But even
if they do, TVA's ash ponds may remain behind — leak-
ing, seeping sources of continuing groundwater and
surface water pollution. Gallatin's ponds, for instance,
were constructed directly on top of a landscape dot-
ted with sinkholes. Although TVA has filled some of
them, a new sinkhole opened up as recently as 2010,
and the entire pond complex continues to sit on
fragile terrain and has developed stability problems
in its containment walls.292 In fact, TVA itself reported
that by the late 1980s, it had identified as many as 111
sinkholes beneath Gallatin's active ash ponds —a ter-
rain so filled with holes that it was hard to keep the
pond from draining into them .293 Several sinkholes have
also opened over the years at the Colbert facility, and
independent engineers have determined that some of
Many other TVA ash ponds sit on similarly danger-
ous ground. Some TVA facilities continue to leach and
leak even long after closure. At the Allen plant, TVA
acknowledges that leaks from its ash facilities have con-
taminated groundwater wells along the shore of nearby
Lake McKellar .295 That problem arises in part from a
long- closed, now mostly dry pond which TVA maintains
is still covered by a discharge permit —which means,
under Tennessee's interpretation of its waste laws, that
TVA need not ever show that the drying ash dump
complies with the state's landfill safety standard 6.296
The result is that both the "closed" pond and the active
ponds continue to contaminate water supplies, without
meaningful controls under either waste or rules.
Other TVA facilities are even more precarious: its
soon -to -close Johnsonville plant, for instance, dumps
its ash on an artificial "Ash Island" in the middle of the
Tennessee River, ringed by unstable dikes —a situation
so unacceptable that TVA has prioritized the site for
cleanup to avert a potential Kingston -like disaster .291
Even without a spill, contaminated ash water leaches
straight into the river from the ponds, and will keep
doing so even if the ponds are closed 298 There, and
throughout the system, ash ponds raise serious public
safety concerns.
TVA has said that it intends to close its ponds some-
time in the next decade and is already working toward
that goal at some plants. But TVA officials said the
same thing more than twenty years ago and failed
to take action — leaving open the Kingston pond
that eventually collapsed and spilled into the Emory
River .299 Because there are not strong federal standards
for waste handling, and TVA's closure plans haven't
been submitted to the public for comment and review,
it's far from clear that pond closures will be safe and
secure, or that they will happen quickly, to protect
the public. The water pollution standards will help dry
these huge waste sites up, but there's more work to do
to clean them up permanently.
These stories of contaminated rivers and fouled
beaches, leaky waste sites and permitted poisonings,
are just a small sample of the national coal plant water
pollution problem that decades of state and federal
neglect and industry callousness have caused. No
community should have to worry about the safety of
its containing walls should be repaired to prevent them its water or the health of its river. That is the guaran-
from collapsing.294 tee that Congress set out in the Clean Water Act, but
that promise has long been deferred. For the sake of
24 Closing the Floodgates
the hundreds of thousands of Americans who suffer
because of that indefensible delay, it is time, now, for
the EPA to at last clean up this toxic industry.
Clean water is a basic human right. We all deserve safe
water to drink, clean lakes and rivers to boat and play
in, flourishing watersheds, and healthy fish to eat. For
too long, the coal industry has polluted our precious
waters with impunity. For 31 years, state regulators and
the EPA have mostly looked the other way, allowing
toxic dumping to continue even though it could have
been cleaned up years ago. Decades of pollution and
thousands of miles of damaged waterways are the
result.
It's time to put this dark history behind us. There is no
reason to tolerate continued dumping, and the Clean
Water Act mandates cleanup. We can eliminate most,
if not all coal plant water pollution for pennies a day.
The strongest of the EPA's proposed options will get
us to that future. But it won't happen unless ordinary
people demand controls to clean up these dangerouS-
discharges from the president and the EPA. Industry
lobbyists seek to weaken the basic protections that
the EPA has proposed, and the industry lobby is well -
funded and well- connected. But industry's voice is not
louder than that of the millions of Americans who have
a right to clean water. It's time for all of us to stand up
and be heard.
�,S (� Wt u N, a
M`G� � �o _fir , �
r
1�
cg, -1,��
Closing the Floodgates 25
2
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1S
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19
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27
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39
40
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51
52
53
54
55
56
57
EPA, Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Effluent Limitation
Guidelines and Standards for the Steam Electric Power Generating
Point Source Category 3 -13 (April 2013) [hereinafter, EA].
EA 3 -34, 3 -38.
33 U.S.C. § 1314(b); 40 C.F.R. §§ 122.44(a)(1), 123.25, 125.3.
78 Fed. Reg. at 34,512.
EA 3 -34, 3 -38.
See EA.
See, e.g., EPA, Technical Development Document for the Proposed
Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for the Steam Electric
Power Generating Point Source Category (April 2013) [hereinafter,
TDD]
Id. at 7- 4 -7 -16.
Id. at 7- 26 -7 -29; 7- 36 -7 -38.
EPA, Benefit and Cost Analysis for the Proposed Effluent Limitations
Guidelines and Standards for the Steam Electric Power Generating
Point Source Category 12 -2 (April 2013) [hereinafter, BCA].
See 78 Fed. Reg. at 34, 501, table Xi -9 (noting that the average annual
cost to ratepayers for the most stringent option is $6.46).
EA at 3 -13.
See id. at 3 -14 (total toxic - weighted pollution from steam electric
power plants is 8.3 million TWPE, total pollution from remaining top ten
industries is 5.78 million TWPE).
Id.
See id. at 5 -7 - 5 -17.
See infra.
33 U.S.C. § 1251(a)(1).
See 78 Fed. Reg. 34,432, 34,435 (June 7, 2013).
Id.
EPA, Steam Electric Power Generating Point Source Category: Final
Detailed Study Report (2009) at 1 -2, 4 -26, 6 -11 ( "Coal combustion
wastewater is commonly discharged directly to surface waters
following treatment in settling ponds. ") [hereinafter "2009 Study "].
BCA at 12 -2.
78 Fed Reg. at 34,501, Table Xi -9 (total average annual cost to
ratepayers for the most stringent option is $6.46)
See EA at 3 -13, Table 3 -2.
EA at 3 -13, Table 3 -2, 3 -20 - 3 -21.
Id. at 5 -6, 5 -7.
TDD at 6 -6, Table 6 -3.
See id. at 4 -33.
Id. at 6 -11.
Id. at 6 -8, 6-11; see also 75 Fed. Reg. at 35,150.
See TDD at 7 -22 - 7 -41.
78 Fed. Reg. at 34,512.
EPA figure are for power plants generally, regardless of fuel, but coal
power plants are by far the principal source of the toxics we discuss.
EA at 3 -13.
2009 Study at 6 -5.
ATSDR, Toxicological Profile for Arsenic, at 18.
/d.
Id. at 20 -22.
2009 Study at 6 -5.
See ATSDR, Public Health Statement. Mercury at §§ 1.5 -1.6.
Union of Concerned Scientists, Environmental Impacts of Coal
Production: Air Pollution, available at: http,,,,w,. ,,,w,uc <- usa.org /clean_
energy /coalvswind /c02c.html
EA at 3 -13.
See ATSDR, Public Health Statement: Mercury at § 1.2.
EA at 3 -13.
2009 Study at 6 -4.
See ATSDR, Public Health Statement: Selenium at § I.S.
2009 Study at 6 -4.
See A. Dennis Lemly, Selenium Impacts on Fish: An Insidious Time
Bomb, 5 Human and Ecological Risk Assessment 1139 at 5 (1999).
See generally id.
Id.
Id. at 3 -13.
Id. at 3 -8.
EA at 3 -7.
Id. at 3 -13.
ATSDR, Public Health statement. Cadmium at S.
Id.
EA at 3 -8.
Id. at 3 -8 - 3 -9.
58 See id. at 3 -13.
59 See id.
60 See 78 Fed. Reg. at 34,477.
61 Id. 34,505.
62 See EA at 3 -9 - 3 -10.
63 Id. at 3 -10.
64 /dat 3 -13.
65 Id. at 3 -14.
66 Id.
67 Id. at 3 -15 - 3 -16.
68 See id.3 -16 -3 -17.
69 See Christopher Rowe et aA, Ecotoxicological Implications ofAquatic
Disposal of Coal Combustion Residues in the United States: A Review,
80 Env. Monitoring and Assessment 207 (2002) at 215,231 -236.
70 EA at 3 -34 - 3 -40.
71 A. Dennis Lemly, Wildlife and the Coal Waste Policy Debate: Proposed
Rules for Coal Waste Disposal Ignore Lessons from 45 Years of Wildlife
Poisoning, Env. Sci. Tech. (2012).
72 Id.
73 Lemly, Selenium Impacts on Fish at 4 -6; see also A. Dennis Lemly,
Symptoms and implications of selenium toxicity in fish: the Belews Lake
case example, S7 Aquatic Toxicology 39 (2002).
74 Rowe et al. at 231.
75 Lemly, Selenium Impacts on Fish at 6 -7.
76 Rowe et al. at 241.
77 ATSDR, Health Consultation: Welsh Reservoir Mount Pleasant, Titus
County, Texas.
78 ATSDR, Health Consultation: Brandy Branch Reservoir, Marshall,
Harrison County, Texas.
79 Laura Ruhl, Avner Vengosh et al, The Impact of Coal Combustion
Residue Effluent on Water Resources, A North Carolina Example (2012).
80 Id.
81 Id.
82 Id.
83 Id.
84 EA at 5 -8,
8S /d. at 5 -9.
86 Id. at 5 -8.
87 Id. at 6 -36.
88 EA at Table 6 -15.
89 EA at 6 -22; 78 Fed. Reg. at 34,505.
90 EA at 3 -33.
91 BCA at 3 -6 - 3 -14.
92 NEJAC, Fish Consumption and Environmental Justice (2002) at iii - iv.
93 Id. at 2.
94 See EA at 3 -20.
95 See 33 U.S.C. § 1241(a)(1)
96 33 U.S.C. § 1314(b); 40 C.F.R. §§ 122.44(a)(1), 123.25, 125.3.
97 See section III, infra; 2009 Report at 4 -50.
98 We provide a more complete description of our methodology in
Appendix I. Appendix II reports the main results themselves.
99 EPA states that "[t]here are 277 plants that generate and discharge
FGD wastewater, fly ash transport water, bottom ash transport water,
and /or combustion residual landfill leachate based on responses to
the Questionnaire for the Steam Electric Power Generating Effluent
Guidelines." RIA, at 3 -4 n. 39.
100 We have not determined whether the limits that do exist have been
set to reflect best available technology or to protect water quality in
individual cases. However, because essentially all of the permits allow
continued discharge of effluent contaminated by ash or scrubber
waste, it is clear that states are not setting the zero discharge limits
which the best technology allows.
101 Counts include only permits listing ash or scrubber waste discharges.
102 Two additional Indiana plants have metals limits which take effect
in 2015. We have not included those limits In this count of currently
applicably limits, but they demonstrate that states can and should set
such limits going forward.
103 78 Fed. Reg. at 34,505.
104 /d
105 33 U.S.C. § 1312(a); 40 C.F.R. § 12244(d)(1)(i).
106 EA at 6 -36.
107 33 U.S.C. § 1342(b)(1)(B).
108 Several plant information summaries in the ECHO database did not
identify a permit expiration date.
109 78 Fed. Reg. at 34,459.
26 Closing the Floodgates
Kai
RE
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
See, e.g., Environmental Integrity Project and Earthjustice, Out
of Control.' Mounting Damages from Coal Ash Waste Sites http: //
earth] usticz.org/ sites /default /files /library /report: Jej -e i p rzportout -or`-
control- f'inaLiadf; Coal Combustion Waste Damage Case Assessments,
U.S. EPA, July 9, 2007, available at http:, /earthjustice.org, si
195 Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, NPDES Permit No. IL001554
(May 24, 2011).
196 Id.
197 Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, NPDES Permit No. IL0001970
(Jan. 11, 2006).
198 Id.
199 Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, NPDES Permit No. ILOOOIS71
(Sept. 14, 2012).
200 Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, NPDES Permit No. IL0002216
(Feb. 4, 2000).
201 Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, NPDES Permit No. IL0064254
(Nov. 30, 2000).
202 Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, NPDES Permit No. IL000208
(May 31, 2005).
203 Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, NPDES Permit No. IL0002232
(Nov. 30, 2011).
204 See id.
205 Sierra Club et. Al. v. Midwest Generation, LLC. PCB 2013 -015. Filed
10/3/2012
206 See http:; ; /dni,state.il.us /Landsilandmgt /parks /R1 /POWERTON.HTI-1.
207 Environmental Integrity Project Analysis from U.S. Toxic Release
Inventory data, Disposal in Coal Ash Ponds Increases 9% in 2070 (Jan. 5,
2012), available at: http:// ww•w.env'ronmental:ntegrity.org /01_05_2012,
php.
208 See id.
209 See id.
210 Id.
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
See Alabama Power, NPDES Permit Application, Miller Steam Plant
(Aug. 2011) at 19.
Alabama Department of Environmental Management, NPDES Permit
No. AL0027146 (Jan. 25, 2007).
Images from Black Warrior Riverkeeper (Feb. 26, 2013).
See generally PCR Engineers & Consultants, Final Report CCW
Impoundments Inspection Report: Gorgas Steam Plant (Sept. 2009),
available at: http : / /v✓ww,epe.gov /osw;norrhaz /industrial /special /fossil;
su rveys2 /g orgas -fina I.pdf.
Alabama Department of Environmental Management, NPDES Permit
No. AL0002909 (Sept. 6, 2007).
See http://wwmcsouthernstudies.org,12009/01/Coa€s- ticking- timebomb-
could -d isaster- strike -a -coa l-ash -du mp- near- you.htm I.
Alabama Department of Environmental Management, NPDES Permit
No. AL0002917 (Oct. 9, 2007).
National Environmental Justice Advisory Council, Fish Consumption
and Environmental Justice (Nov. 2002).
International Joint commission, PCB contaminated Sediment
Remediation in Waukegan Harbor, available at: www,ijc.org /php/
, - -- - -- -
pub6cations/ html/ cases /w'ai�kegar %waukegan.html.
ht- v�: < ;.n�.idphsta e it us /envhealth,fishadvisory/
wauKegannorthharborhtm.
See Midwest Generation Factsheet, http: / /www.edison.com/
files /2005_`actsheet_:•;aukegan.pdf,
NAACP, Coal Blooded Putting Profits Before People (2012), available
at: http: / /vrvw.naacp.org /pages /coal - bloodedl at 92.
...._. -_ . __ ....- - -- --- -- - - --
Id.
Id.
IEPA, Illinois EPA's Ash Impoundment Strategy Progress Report
(October 2011), available at: http: / /www.epa.state.1l.us /water /ash-
impoundment /documents/ ash =impoundment - progress- 10251 €.pdf
IEPA, Violation Notice: Midwest Generation LLC, Violation Notice No.
W- 2072 -00056 (June 11, 2012).
Sierra Club et. al. v. Midwest Generation, LLC. PCB 2013 -015. Filed
10/3/2012.
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, NPDES Permit No. IL0002259
(July 19, 2000).
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Draft NPDES Permit. No.
IL0002259 (Feb. 8, 2013)).
EPA ECHO database reporting for Waukegan, available at www.epa-
echo.gov/cgi-bin/ get! cReport.cg i ?tool = echo &I DN u mber =l L0002259.
Dr. Ranajit Sahu, Technical Report, Dry Sorbent Injection (DSI) and its
Applicability to TVA's Shawnee Fossil Plant (SHF) (Apr. 2013) at 15 -16.
See generally NAACP, Coal Blooded. Putting Profits Before People at
App. I.
See Sierra Club factsheet, We Are the Owners of the Omaha Public
Power District (2013). Grist, Mary Anne Hitt, Fighting for Environmental
Justice in Omaha (Apr. 9, 2013).
Sierra Club factsheet, We Are the Owners of the Omaha Public Power
District (2013).
Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality, NPDES Permit No.
NE0000621(Sept. 30, 2009).
See id. at S.
Id.
238 See Nebraska Fish Advisories, available at: http:;7www.deq.state.ne.us,,
Surface'^:: n sf / ?age s/FCA.
239 See http: ,w vva cwg.org/4tapwater/ images /EWG_rated- utilities.pdf.
240 See generally NAACP, Coal Blooded. Putting Profits Before People at
87.
241 Sierra Club, State of Detroit's Environment (2013), available at: http: //
action.sierraclub.org/ site; DocServer,% State_of_Detroit_s_Environment.
pdf ?docID =12741.
242 Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Permit No. M10001724
(Aug. 11, 2008).
243 Id, at 3.
244 Personal communication w/ Detroit Riverkeeper Robert Burns (June 5,
2013).
245 Kalkirtz et al., University of Michigan Masters' Thesis, Environmental
Justice and Fish Consumption Advisories on the Detroit River Area of
Concern (May 2008).
246 Id. at 66.
247 See Michigan Fish Advisories, http; lwww.rnichigan.gov /documents/
FishAdvisoryC 3_67354_7.pdf.
248 Id. at 34,458 Table VIII -1.
249 Don Hopey, FirstEnergy to ship Little Blue Run coal wastes to Fayette
County, Pittsburgh Post - Gazette, Jan. 25, 2013, available at http : / /www.
post- gazette.com% stories /local /region /firsten erg y -to- ship - little -blue-
run- coal - wastes -to- fayette- county - 671916/.
250 See U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency, TRI Explorer, http: % /iaspub.epa.gov/
triexplorer /tri_release.chemical.
251 See Pennsylvania Dep't of Environmental Protection, 2072 Pennsylvania
Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report -
Streams, Category 5 Waterbodies, Pollutants Requiring a TMDL,
at 680, 683, and 692. Report is available at http; j'files.depsta °e
pa. us/ Water /Drinking I 6200,1.ter :20and %201 Facility �/,;20Reguiation/
41/ aterQualityPortaIFiles /201«,201ntegrated9620 :st/2012%2b -
Stearns %2C,Catego yi;20S.pdf.
252 See Ohio River Fish Consumption Advisories - Unit 1 Advisories 2012 at
http:%; 216.68. 102, 178/ -o,nrn%fishconsumption /unitl.asp
253 See Pennsylvania Dep't of Environmental Protection, NPDES Permit No.
0027481.
254 FirstEnergy, Form 14R: Residual Waste Landfills and Disposal
Impoundments, Quarterly and Annual Water Quality Analysis
(submitted to DEP) (2006 -2012) (quarters 1 and 3 for 2012 were
unavailable for review).
255 Id.
256 Id. (Quarter 3, 2012).
257 Don Hopey, FirstEnergy to ship Little Blue Run coal wastes to Fayette
County, Pittsburgh Post - Gazette, Jan. 25, 2013, available at http:; %www.
past- gazette.com /stones; local /region% firstenergy -to- ship - little -blue-
run -teal- wastes- to- fayette- cour:ty- 671916; .
258 Joanna Castle Miller What's Killing Labelle, PA ?, Nov. 3, 2010, available
at http: / ; /themarginalized.com:,,'2010:l/ 03 /whats- killing- labelle -pa,/
259 See Pennsylvania Dep't of Environmental Protection, 2072
Pennsylvania Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment
Report - Streams, Category 5 Waterbodies, Pollutants Requiring a
TMDL, at 594 -99. Report is available at http: / /files.dep.state.paus/
W ater : /Dnr:kin.g%2OWater %20and %20Fac lit;%20Regulation/
Wat erQualityPortalFilesi2012 °20lnte4rated '-_' t /2012 %20
Streams/ 2GCategory %2C5.pdf.
260 PA Dep't of Envtl. Protection, NPDES Permit No. PA0002895.
261 Id. at page 2k.
262 North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources,
Permit No. NC0000396, at A(2). The permit limits discharges of
mercury because the French Broad River is not meeting water quality
standards for that metal. See U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
French Broad Water Quality Status Assessment for 2010, available at
httP:/,1iasPuh.ePa.gov/tmd1 waters' 0/atta ins waterbody.control?p
list_d ?N06010OSC ^1_100 &p_;ycle= 2010 &p_report_tyne =.
263 Discharge Monitoring Reports filed by Duke Energy, as reported in
EPA's ECHO Database.
264 North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources,
Permit No. NC0000396, Outfall 001.
265 Ruhl, at al., The Impact of Coal Combustion Residue Effluent on
Water Resources: A North Carolina Example, Environ. Sci. & Technol.
(accepted Sept. 30, 2012), at C.
266 Id. at C.
267 U.S. DOE's Energy Information Administration, Form EIA -923, Electric
Power Data. 2011.
268 Colorado Dept. of Public Health and Environment, NPDES Permit No.
CO- 0000612.
269 Id. at Part I, page 4.
270 See U.S. EPA Watershed Assessment, Tracking and Environmental
Results, 2010 Water Body Report for St. Charles River, Segment
COARM06_3400 (2010), available at http:J'cfmpub.epa.gov/
tmdl_ waterslO /attains_waterbody.control -o_l st_id= &p_au_
i d =COARM A06_3400 &p_cycle= 2010 &p_state =CO
271 See U.S. EPA Watershed Assessment, Tracking and Environmental
Results, 2010 Waterbody Report for Arkansas River - Fountain Creek to
near Avondale ( Waterbody ID: COARLA0IA_3400).
28 Closing the Floodgates
272 Colorado Discharge Permit No. CO- 0000612 (issued Sept. 24, 2008), at
4 -5.
273 PPL Montana, J.E. Corette Plant profile, at http::'v,'ww.pplmontana.
com /producing +power, ,'power +plants; J.E. +Coretfe.htrr.•
274 Natural Resources Defense Council analysis of data reported to Energy
Information Administration in 2005, Contaminated Coal Waste: Data
& Projections for Existing and Proposed U.S. Coal -Fired Power Plants,
available at www. nrdc .org /energy,,roalwaste /MT.asp.
275 See MPDES Permit No. XYZ, Outfall 003.
276 See Montana DEG, Clean Water Act Information Center, 2012 Water
Quality Information for Water Body Segments MT431`001_O11 and
MT431`001_010, available at http. /,Icwaic.mtgov /det_rep.aspx ?segid =
MT43F001_010 & gryld= 101134 (section upriver Corette plant); http:r7
ca ic.rr- t.gov;def_re .espx ?segid =MT43F001_010 &qryld= 101134
(section downriver of Corette plant).
277 See 2012 Water Quality Information for Water Body Segment
MT43F001_010, Impairment Information Table.
278 See generally, Jeff Stant at aL, Out of Control. Mounting Damages
from Coal Ash Waste Sites (Feb. 24, 2010), available at: http: /,'www.
envi rorunerita li nteg rity.org/ news _reports /new•s_02_24_1 O.php.
279 See id.
280 TVA, Office of the Inspector General, Inspection Report: Review of the
Kingston Fossil Plant Ash Spill Root Cause Study and Observations
About Ash Management (July 23, 2009), available at: http:; /oig.tva.
go,,�;PDF /09rpts /2008- 12283- 02.pdf. - - - - -- ---- -_ - - --
281 Id, at 4.
282 Bobby Allen, The Tennessean, TVA Held Responsible for Massive Coal
Ash Spill (Aug. 23, 2012), available at: httpi, /usatoday30.usatoday.com/
new h s / nation /story,/2012 -08- 23 /tva- coal -a, s..,ili,'S7246 ?24/1.
283 Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, NPDES
Permit No. TN0005452.
284 See TVA, Office of the Inspector General, Inspection Report: Review of
the Kingston Fossil Plant Ash Spill Root Cause Study and Observations
About Ash Management at 31.
285 See generally Stantec Engineering Reports, posted at http:;;www.tva.
corTi,/Power,,'s-Lantec2/'ndex.htm.
286 Southern Environmental Law Center, 60 -Day Notice of Violations and
Intent to File Citizen Suit re: Colbert Plant (Feb. 13, 2013).
287 Alabama Department of Environmental Management, NPDES Permit
No. AL0003867 (Jan. 7, 2008).
288 See Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Permit
No. TN0005428 (June 26, 2012).
289 Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection, Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System Permit No. KY0004219 (July 13, 2005).
290 Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Permit
N0.TN0005355 (Aug. 4, 2005).
291 See, e.g., Environmental Integrity Project Comments on Discharge
permits for the Cumberland (Mar. 24, 2010), Johnsonville (Mar. 16,
2010), and Bull Run (Apr. 9, 2010) discharge permits (documenting
these dangerous pollution levels).
292 See Stantec, Report of Geotechnical Exploration and Slope Stability
Evaluation: Ash Pond /Stilling Pond Complex - Gallatin Fossil Plant
Gallatin, Tennessee (May 27, 2010), available at: http:;%www.tva.corn
power /stantec2 ;'GAF /G A F -G E- 100527:&20( rpt_fl0'_17555901 R),pdf.
293 TVA, An Evaluation of the Impacts of the Gallatin Fly Ash Pond to
Groundwater Resources (Aug. 1989).
294 See Stantec, Report of Geotechnical Exploration and Slope Stability
Evaluation: Ash Pond - Colbert Fossil Plant, Tuscumbia, Alabama (Jan.
22, 2010), available at: http / /www.tva.com; power /stantec2 /COF/
botto m_a sh_pond. p d f.
295 TVA, Groundwater Monitoring Report - Allen Fossil Plant - February
2008, at 2 (Aug. 22, 2008).
296 See, e.g., Letter from Robert J. Martineau, Jr., TDEC Commissioner, to
Joshua Galperin, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (Apr. 23, 2012)
( "Industrial and municipal wastewater treatment plants, such as TVA
ash ponds, are not subject to solid waste permitting process When
the ash pond is converted from a wastewater treatment unit to a solid
waste management unit, oversight will be transferred to Solid Waste
Management.")
297 Ben Hall, NewsChannel5, TVA Focuses on Johnsonville Ash Pond (Dec.
21, 2009), available at: http://www.newschannel5.com,,s*Lory/11712450,,'
tva- focuses- on- johnsonviIle-a pond.
298 Charles Norris, Geo- Hydro, Inc., Report on TVA's Johnsonville Ash Island
Placement Area and Closure Plan (Dec. 12, 2011).
299 TVA, Office of the Inspector General, Inspection Report: Review of the
Kingston Fossil Plant Ash Spill Root Cause Study and Observations
About Ash Management at Appendix C, 15.
Closing the Floodgates 29
We identified 386 operating coal -fired power plants
using the EPA's Clean Air Markets Program database.
Using EPA's Enforcement and Compliance History
Online (ECHO) database, we reviewed effluent lim-
its and monitoring requirements for arsenic, boron,
cadmium, lead, mercury, and selenium and expiration
dates for each of the coal -fired power plants. Our
review focused on these pollutants because they are
almost always found in coal ash and scrubber waste
and are particularly harmful to health or aquatic life. In
addition, we reviewed whether each power plant dis-
charged into impaired waters and included the cause
of impairment if it was identified in the ECHO data-
base. Our review focused on these pollutants because
they are almost always fund in coal ash and scrubber
waste and are particularly harmful to health or aquatic
life. Where available, we reviewed individual permits
for coal -fired power plants to identify waste streams
discharged at the plant and any effluent limits and
monitoring requirements for arsenic, boron, cadmium,
lead, mercury, and selenium. Where data related to ef-
fluent limits and monitoring requirements in the ECHO
database conflicted with the plant's current permit, the
data in the plant's permit was used in the analysis. We
did not have access to permits for all 386 plants.
in some cases, multiple power plants are regulated un-
der a single permit. For example, the HMP &L Station 2,
R.D. Green, and Robert Reid power plants in Kentucky
are regulated under one discharge permit. These
power plants are identified as three separate plants in
our analysis (as opposed to one plant).
DATA LIMITATIONS: The information contained in this
report is based on company self- reported data ob-
tained through publicly accessible U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency websites and Freedom of
Information Act requests. Occasionally, government
data may contain errors, either because information
is inaccurately reported by the regulated entities or
incorrectly transcribed by government agencies. This
report is based on data retrieved in March of 2013, and
subsequent data retrievals may differ slightly as some
companies correct prior reports.
30 Closing the Floodgates
APPENDIX 11
AL
Mobile
Barry
Alabama Power
1770.7
Mercury
Mercury
Company
2/28/2010
AL
Washington
Charles R
PowerSouth Energy
538
None
AL0003140
Lowman
Cooperative, Inc.
Arsenic
AL
Colbert
Colbert
Tennessee Valley
1350
9/5/2012
Arsenic
Arsenic
Authority
9/30/2012
AL
Shelby
E C Gaston
Alabama Power
2012.8
None
AL0003875
3/31/2010
Company
None
AL
Etowah
Gadsden
Alabama Power
138
6/30/2017
Arsenic.
None
Company
AL
Walker
Gorgas
Alabama Power
14163
Company
AL
Greene
Greene
Alabama Power
568.4
6/30/2017
None
County
Company
2/21/2005
AL
Jefferson
James H
Alabama Power
2822
AZ0023311
Miller Jr
Company
None
AL
Jackson
Widows Creek
Tennessee Valley
1968.6
None
None
None
Authority
12/31/2012
AR
Benton
Flint Creek
Southwestern
558
C00001104
Power Plant
Electric Power
Cadmium,
Gadmiu ^a,
Company
AR
Independence
Independence
Entergy
1700
Selenium
C00000612
Corporation
None
AR
Mississippi
Plum Point
Plum Point Energy
720
COR900429
6/30/2017
Energy
Associates, Inc.
COR900436
6/30/2017
None
Station
AR
Jefferson
White Bluff
Entergy
1900
Corporation
AZ
Cochise
Apache
Arizona Electric
408
Station
Power Cooperative
AZ
Navajo
Chotla
Arizona Public
1128.8
Service Company
AZ
Pima
Irvington
Tucson Electric
173.3
Generating
Power Company
Station
AZ
Coconino
Navajo
Salt River Project
24093
Generating
Station
CO
Denver
Arapahoe
Public Service
152.5
Company of
Colorado
CO
Adams
Cherokee
Public Service
676.3
Company of
Colorado
CO
Pueblo
Comanche
Public Service
1635.3
Company of
Colorado
CO
Moffat
Craig
Tri -State Generation
1427.6
& Transmission
CO
Routt
Hayden
Public Service
438.6
Company of
Colorado
CO
Prowers
Lamar
Lamar Utilities
43.5
Board
CO
El Paso
Martin Drake
Colorado Springs
257
Utilities
CO
Montrose
Nucla
Tri -State Generation
113.8
& Transmission
CO
Larimer
Rawhide
Platte River Power
293.6
Energy
Authority
Station
CO
El Paso
Ray D Nixon
Colorado Springs
207
Utilities
CO
Boulder
Valmont
Public Service
191.7
Company of
Colorado
AL0002879
10/31/2013
Arsenic,
Arsenic,
Mercury
Mercury
AL0003671
2/28/2010
Lead
None
AL0003867
5/31/2010
Arsenic. Lead
None
AL0003140
6/30/2012
Arsenic
Arsenic
AL000288.7
1/31/2308
Arsenic.
Arsenic
AL0002909
9/5/2012
Arsenic
Arsenic
AL0002917
9/30/2012
Arsenic
Arsenic
AL0027146
1/31/2012
None
None
AL0003875
3/31/2010
Arsenic
None
ARR006277
6/30/2014
None
None
AR0037451
6/30/2017
Arsenic.
None
Cadmium,
Mercury, Lead,
Selenium
AR0049557
1/31/2012
Selenium
None
AR0036331
6/30/2017
None
None
AZ0023795
2/21/2005
Arsenic,
None
Selenium
AZ0023311
8/10/2003
None
None
AZS000013
None
None
None
AZU000010
None
None
None
C00001091
12/31/2012
Mercury. Lead.
Selenium
Selenium
C00001104
4/30/2014
Boron,
Cadmium,
Gadmiu ^a,
Lead,
Mercury, Lead.
Selenium
Selenium
C00000612
10/31/2013
None
None
COR900399
6/30/2017
None
None
COR900429
6/30/2017
None
None
COR900436
6/30/2017
None
None
C00000850 10/31/2010 Lead, Arsenic, None
Selenium
CO0000540 10/31/2011 Mercury, None
Lead, Boron,
Arsenic
COR900559 6/30/2017 None .None
Ash
Ash &
Scrubber
Ash
Ash
Ash
Ash
Ash
Ash
Ash
Ash
Ash &
Scrubber
Ash
Ash
Ash
Ash
CORg00550 6/30/2017 None None
C00001112 10/31/2017 Cadmium, None Ash
Boron,
Mercury,
Arsenic
Tombigee River
Coosa River Ph; Phosphorus
(Neely Henry
Lake)
Swepco Lake Ph; Phosphorus; Total
Suspended Solids
South Platte
River
South Platte Cadmium
River
St. Charles Selenium
River
Unnamed
tributary
-Johnson Gulch
Marshall
Roberts Ditch
-Yampa River
arkansas River
Fountain Creek
San Miguel
River
Boxelder Creek
South Platte
River
Unnamed
Tributary- Little
Fountain Creek
Tributaries to Selenium
St. Vrain Creek
Closing the Floodgates 31
CT
Fairfield
Bridgeport
PSEG Power
400
CT0030180
1212912010
Lead
None
Cedar Creek/ Nutrients
Harbor Station
Connecticut. LLC
Long Island
Sound;
Brideport
Harbor
DE
Sussex
'Indian River
Indian River Power,
782.4
DE0050580
12/31/2016
None
None
Ash
LLC
DE
Kent
NRG Energy
NRG Energy; Inc
18
DE00SO466
8/31/2013
None
None
Center Dover
FL
Hillsborough
Big Bend
Tampa Electric
18225
FL0000817
12./29/2016
Arsenic,
Mercury
Scrubber
Big Bend Bayou
Company
Mercury, Lead,
Selenium
FL
Polk
C D McIntosh
City of Lakeland.-
363.8
FLD026301
12/5/2015
None
None
Jr Power
Lakeland Electric
Plant
FL
Duval
Cedar Bay
Cedar Bay
291.6
FL0061204
11/4/2015
None
None
Broward River
Generating
Operating Services
Cc,LP
LLC
FL
Escambia
Crist Electric
Gulf Power
1135.1
FLW02275
, 1/27/2016
Arsenic,
Arsenic,
Ash
Generating
Company
Cadmium,
Cadmium,
Plant
Mercury, Lead,
Mercury. Lead,
Selenium
Selenium
FL
Citrus
Crystal River
Florida Power
2442.7
FL0000159
3/11/2017
Arsenic,
Arsenic,
Corporation
Cadmium,
Cadmium,
Mercury, Lead,
Mercury, Lead,
Selenium
Selenium
-
FL
Orange
Curtis H.
Orlando Utilities
929
FLO681661
6/23/2016
None
None
Stanton
Commission
Energy Center
FL
Alachua
Deerhaven
Gainesville Regional
250.7
FLR05B392
2/2/2016
None
None
Utilities
FL
Martin
Indiantown
Indiantown
395.4
FLR05B623
4/28/2015
None
None
Cogeneration,
Cogeneration
LP
Limited Partnership
FL
Bay
Lansing Smith
Gulf Power
340
FL0002267
12/1/2014
Arsenic,
Lead
Ash
Alligator Bayou
Generating
Company
Cadmium,
Plant
Mercury, Lead,
Selenium,
Boron
FL
Duval
Northside
JEA
595
FL0001031
5/8/2017
Arsenic,
Arsenic,
Cadmium,
Mercury, Lead,
Mercury, Lead,
Selenium
Selenium
FL
Polk
Polk
Tampa Electric
326.3
FLOO43869
3/30/2014
Arsenic,
Arsenic,
Ash
Company
Cadmium,
- Cadmium,
Lead,
Lead,
Selenium
Selenium
FL
Jackson
Scholz Electric
Gulf Power
98
FL0002283
9/22/2015
Cadmium,
Lead
Ash
Apalachicola
Generating
Company
Lead
River
Plant
FL
Putnam
Seminole
Seminole Electric
1429.2
'10036498
8/28/2017
Arsenic,
Selenium,
Scrubber
Rice Creek Cadmium; Iron; Lead;
Cooperative. Inc.
Cadmium,
Lead, Mercury
Nickel; Silver
Lead, Mercury
-
FL
Duval
St. Johns
JEA
1358
FL0037869
21912011
Arsenic,
Arsenic,
Ash
River Power
Mercury, Lead
Mercury,
Selenium
GA
Bartow
Bowen
Georgia Power
3498.6
GA0001449
6/30/2012
None
None
Scrubber
Etowah River
Company
GA
Floyd
Hammond
Georgia Power
953
GA0001457
6/30/2012
None
None
Ash &
Coosa River
Company
scrubber
GA
Putnam
Harllee Branch
Georgia Power
1746.2
GA0026051
212812010
None
None
Ash
Company
GA
Chatham
Kraft
Georgia Power
207.9
GA0003816
5/31/2004
Arsenic, Lead,
None
Ash
Company
Mercury,
Selenium.
Cadmium
GA
Effingham
McIntosh
Georgia Power
177.6
GA0003883
5/31/2004
Arsenic, Lead.
None
Ash
(6124)
Company
Mercury,
Selenium.
Cadmium
GA
Dougherty
Mitchell
Georgia Power
1453.2
GA0001465
2/28/2015
None
.None
Ash
Company
GA
Monroe
Scherer
Georgia Power
3564
GA0035564
11/30/2006
None
None
Ash
Company
GA
Heard
Wansley
Georgia Power
1904
GA0026778
8/31/2011
None
None
-
Company
GA
Coweta
Yates.
Georgia Power
1487.3
GA0001473
8/31/2011
None
None
Ash &
Chattahoochee
Company
Scrubber
River
W
Story
Ames
City of Ames
108.8
IA0033235
7/22/2006
None
None
Ash
South Skunk
River
IA
Des Moines
Burlington
Interstate Power &
212
IA0001783
9/4/2011
None
None.
Ash
Light Company
32 Closing the Floodgates
IA
Clay
Earl F Wisdom
Corn Bell Power
33
IA0004570
3/26/2007
None
None
Cooperative
W
Muscatine
Fair Station
Central Iowa Power
62.5
IA0001562
10/20/2014
None
None
Ash
Cooperative
IA
Woodbury
George Neal
MidAmencan
1046
IA0004103
11/30/2016
None
None
Ash
Missouri River
Mercury (Fish
North
Energy Company
Consumption Advisory)
IA
Woodbury
George Neal
MidAmerican
640
IA0061859
3/30/2014
None
None
Ash
Missouri River
Mercury (Fish
South
Energy Company
Consumption Advisory)
lA
Allamakee
Lansing
Interstate Power &
312
1AD003735
10/1/2003
Lead
Lead
Ash
Light Company
IA
Louisa
Louisa
MidAmencan
811.9
IA0063282
3/31/2017
None
None
Ash
Energy Company
1A
Clinton
Milton L Kapp
Interstate Power &
218.5
IA0001759
7/15/2004
None
None
Ash
Light Company
IA
Muscatine
Muscatine
Muscatine Power
293.5
IAODO1082
5/22/2008
None
None
Ash
and Water
1A
Wapello
Ottumwa
Interstate Power &
725.9
IA0060909
3/4/2008
None
None
Ash
Light Company
IA
Marion
Pella
City of Pella
38
IA0032701
12/19/2009
None
None
Ash
IA
Linn
Prairie Creek
Interstate Power &
213.4
IA0000540
7/31/2015
None
None
Ash
Light Company
IA
Scott
Riverside
MidAmencan
141
IA0003611
12/31/2016
None
None
Ash
Energy Company
IA
Black Hawk
Streeter
Cedar Falls
51.5
1AD002534
8/31/2017
None
None
Station
Municipal. Electric
IA
Marshall
Sutherland
Interstate Power&
119.1
JA0000108
11/12/2011
None
None
Ash
Light Company
1A
Pottawattarnie
Walter Scott
MldAmerican
1778.9
tA0004308
212612006
None
None
Ash
Jr. Energy
Energy Company
Center
IL
Randolph
Baldwin
Dynegy Midwest
1894.1
ILOO00043
4/30/2010
- None
None
Ash
Energy
Generation Inc.
Complex
1L
Montgomery
Ccfteen
Ameren Energy
1005A
ILOOOO108
1/31/2013
Boron,
None
.Ash
Coffeen Lake
Phosphorus; Total
Generating
Mercury
Suspended Solids; Total
Company
Dissolved Solids; Ph
IL
Sangamon
Dallman
City of Springfield,
667.7
IL0024767
12/31/2006
Boron
Boron
Ash &
Illinois River
Mercury; Silver, Nitorgen;
IL
Scrubber
Phosphorus; Total
Suspended Solids; Fish
Consumption Advisory
IL
Fulton
Duck Creek
Ameren Energy
441
I1.0055520
2/28/2013
Boron,
Boron
Ash
Illinois River
Silver, Boron, Iron,
Resources
Mercury
Mercury
Generating
Company
IL
Peoria
E D Edwards
Ameren Energy
780.3
IL0001970
1/31/2011
None
None
Ash
South Branch
Fish Consumption
Resources
of the Chicago
Advisory
Generating
River
Company
IL
Mason
Havana
Dynegy Midwest
488
ILOOOIS71
9/30/2017
Mercury
None
Ash &
Illinois River
Mercury; Silver, Nitorgen;
Generation Inc.
Scrubber
Phosphorus; Total
Suspended Solids; Fish
Consumption Advisory
IL
Putnam
Hennepin
Dynegy Midwest
306.3
IL0001554
4/30/2016
Mercury
None
Ash
Illinois River
Mercury (Fish
Power Station
Generation Inc.
Consumption Advisory)
IL
Will
Joliet 29
Midwest Generation
132D
I1-0064254
11/30/2000
None
None
Ash
Des Plaines
Mercury (Fish
EME, LLC
River
Consumption Advisory)
IL
Will
Joliet 9
Midwest Generation
360.4
IL0002216
3/31/2001
None
None
Ash
Des Plaines
Fish Consumption
EME, LLC
River
Advisory
IL
Massac
Joppa steam
Electric Energy, Inc.
1099.8
IL0004171
7/3":/2014
Boron,
None
Ash
Ohio River
Mercury
IL
Christian
Kincaid
Dominion Energy
1319
IL0002241
4/30/2005
None
None
Ash
Lake Sangchns
Nutrients
Station
Services Company
IL
Williamson
Marion
Southern Illinois
272
ILOOD4316
2/29/2012.
Boron.
Boron
Ash &
Power Cooperative
Mercury
Scrubber
IL
Jasper
Newton
Ameren Energy
1234.8
IL0049191
1/31/2012
Boron,
Boron
Ash &
Newton Lake
Nutrients
Generating
Mercury
Scrubber
Company
IL
Tazewell
Powerton
Midwest Generation
1785.6
IL0002232
10/31/2010
None
None
Ash
EME, LLC
IL
Washington
Prairie State
Prairie State
245
IL0076996
11/30/2010
Arsenic,
None
Ash
- Illinois River
Mercury
Generating
Generating
Cadmium,
Company
Company
Mercury, Lead.
Selenium
IL
Lake
Waukegan
Midwest Generation
681.7
IL0002259
7/31/2005
None
None
Ash
LLC
IL
Will
Will County
Midwest Generation
897.6
IL0002208
5/31/2010
None
None
Ash
Chicago
Iron; Oil; Nitrogen:
EME, LLC
Sanitary & Ship
Phosphorus: Fish
Canal
Consumption Advisory
Closing the Floodgates 33
34
IL
Madison
Wood River
Dynegy Midwest
500.1
ILD000701
12/31/2014
Arsenic.
Boron
Ash
Wood River
Copper: Manganese:
Power Station
Generation Inc.
Cadmium
Total Dissolved Solids:
Phosphorus; Total
Suspended Solids: Ph
IN
Posey
A B Brown
Southern Indiana
530.4
IN0052192
9/30/2016
Arsenic,
None
Ash
Ohio River -
Mercury (fish tissue)
Generating
Gas and Electric
Boron,
Evansville to
.Station
Company
- Cadmium,
Uniontown
Mercury,
Selenium
IN
Warrick
Alcoa
Alcoa Allowance
777.6
IN0035051
3/31/1991
None
None
Ash&
Ohio Rver-
Mercury (fish tissue)
Allowance
Management, Inc.
Scrubber
Cannelton to
Management
Newburgh
Inc
IN
Porter
Bailly
Northern Indiana
603.5
M0000132
7/31/2017
Arsenic,
None
Ash
.Lake Michigan
Mercury
Generating
Public Service
Boron,
Shoreline -
Station
Company
Cadmium,
Dunes
Mercury, Lead,
Selenium
IN
Marion
C. C. Perry K
Citizens Thermal
23.4
IN0004677
12/32/2016
Mercury
None
Steam Plant
IN
Vermillion
Cayuga
Duke Energy
1062
IN0002763
7/31/2012
Arsenic,
Mercury
Ash
Wabash River
Mercury (fish tissue)
Corporation
Cadmium,
Selenium.
Mercury
IN
Jefferson
CliftyCreek
Indiana Kentucky
1303.8
IN0001759
1/31/2017
Arsenic.
None
Ash
Electric Corp
Boron,
Cadmium,
Mercury,
Selenium,
Lead
IN
Warrick
F BCulley
Southern Indiana
368.9
IN0002259
11/30/2016
Arsenic.
Cadmium,
- Ash
Generating
Gas and Electric
Boron.
Mercury
Station
Company
Cadmium,
Mercury.
Selenium
IN
Pike
Frank Ratts
Hoosier Energy
233.2
IN0004391
9/30/2017
Arsenic,
None
Ash
White River
Mercury (fish tissue)
REC. Inc.
Mercury,
Selenium
IN
Morgan
IPL - Eagle
Indianapolis Power
301.6
IN0004693
9/30/2017
Arsenic,
None
Ash
White River
Mercury (fish tissue)
Valley
& Light Company
Cadmium,
Generating
Lead, Mercury,
Station
Selenium,
Boron
IN
Marion
IPL - Harding
Indianapolis Power
698
IN0004685
9/30/2017
Arsenic,
Cadmium,
Ash &
White Rver
Mercury (fish tissue)
Street Station
& Light Company
Boron,
Lead.. Mercury
Scrubber
(EW Stout)
Cadmium.
(effective
Mercury. Lead,
Aug. 28, 2015)
Selenium
IN
Pike
IPL -
Indianapolis Power
2146.7
IN0002887
9/30/2017
Arsenic,
Boron,
Ash &
White River
Mercury (fish tissue)
Petersburg
& Light Company
Boron,
Cadmium.
Scrubber
Generating
Cadmium,
Lead, Mercury,
- Station
Mercury, Lead,
Selenium
Selenium
(effective
Sept. 28.
2015)
IN
Sullivan
Merom
Hoosier Energy
1080
IN0050296
12/31/2015
Arsenic,
None
Scrubber
REC, Inc.
Cadmium,
Mercury, Lead,
Selenium
IN
LaPorte
Michigan City
Northern Indiana
540
IN0000116
2/29/2016
Cadmium,
None
Ash
Lake Michigan
Mercury (Fish
Generating
Public Service
Mercury, Lead
Shoreline-
Consumption Advisory)
Station
Company
Dunes
IN
Floyd
R Gallagher
Duke Energy
600
IN0002798
8/31/2015
Arsenic,
None
Ash
Corporation
Cadmium.,
Selenium
IN
Jasper
R M Schahfer
Northern Indiana
1943.4
IN0053201
4/30/2015
Arsenic. -
None
Generating
Public Service
Cadmium.
Station
Company
Mercury, Lead,
Selenium
IN
Spencer
Rockport
Indiana Michigan
2600
IN0051845
11/30/2015
Boron,
Lead.
Ash &
Ohio River-
Mercury (fish tissue)
Power Company
Mercury, Lead.
Selenium
Scrubber
Cannelton. to
Selenium
Newburgh
IN
Dearborn
Tanners Creek
Indiana Michigan
1100.1
IN0002160
5/31/2015
Arsenic,
None
Ash
Ohio River and
Mercury in fish tissue
Power Company
Cadmium,
Tanners Creek
Mercury
IN
Vigo
Wabash River
Duke Energy
860.2
IN0063134 -
10/31/2013
Arsenic,
None
Ash
Wabash River
Mercury (Fish
Gen Station
Corporation
Mercury
- Wabash Gen
Consumption Advisory)
Ste to Lost
-
Creek
IN
Wayne
'Whitewater
City of Richmond
93.9
IN0063151
11/30/2013
None
None
Short Creek and
Valley
- other Tribs
KS
Finney
Holcomb
Sunflower Electric
348.7
KS0080063
12/31/2011
Arsenic,
None
Power Corporation
Cadmium,
Lead.
Selenium
KS
Pottawatomie
Jeffrey Energy
Westar Energy. Inc.
2160
KS0080632
5/31/2013
Arsenic,
Mercury
Deep Creek
Phosphorus
Center
Cadmium,
Mercury, Lead.
Selenium
Closing the Floodgates
KS
Linn
La Cygne
Kansas City Power
1578
KS0080071
10131/2009
None
None
Ash
121.1 to 138.5
Consumption Advisory)
& Light Company
Ohio River
Mercury in fish tissue
Scrubber
KS
Douglas
Lawrence
Westar Energy, Inc.
566
KS0079821
3/31/2013
Arsenic,
None
From Bear Head
Energy Center
Creek to West
Cadmium,
Ash
Mount Hope
Nutrients; Unknown
Bay
Toxicity
Ash
Mercury, Lead,
Mercury (Fish
River
Consumption Advisory)
Ash
Selenium
KS
Wyandotte
Nearman
Kansas City Board
261
KS0119075
12/31/2008
None
None
Creek
of Public Utilities
KS
Wyandotte
Ouindaro
Kansas City Board
239.1
KS0080942
12/31/2008
None
None
. of Public Utilities
KS
Cherokee
Riverton
Empire District
87.5
KS0079812
12/31/2013
Lead
None
Electric Company
KS
Shawnee
Tecumseh
Wester Energy, Inc.
232
KS0079731
7/31/2017
None
None
Energy Center
KY
Lawrence
Big Sandy
Kentucky Power
1096.8
KY0000221
3/31/2006
None
None
Company
KY
Jefferson
Cane Run
LGE and KU Energy
644.6
KY0002062
10/31/2007
None
None
LLC
KY
Hancock
Coleman
Big Rivers Electric
602
KY0001937
2/28/2005
None
None
Corporation
KY
Ohio
D B Wilson
Big Rivers Electric
566.1
KY0054836
10/31/2004
None
None
Corporation
KY
Mercer
E Brown
LGE and KU Energy
757.1
KY0002020
2/28/2015
None
None
LLC
KY
Boone
East Bend
Duke Energy
669.3
KY0040444
7/31/2007
None
None
Corporation
KY
Daviess
Elmer Smith
Owensboro
445.3
KY0001295
3/31/2005
None
None
Municipal utilities
KY
Carroll
Ghent
Kentucky Utilities
2225.9
KY0002038
6/30/2007
None
None
Company
KY
Muhlenberg
Green River
Kentucky utilities
188.6
KY0002011
10/31/2004
None
None
Company
KY
Mason
H LSpurlock
East Kentucky
16085
KY0022250
4/30/2004
None
None
Power Cooperative
KY
Henderson
HMP &L
Big Rivers Electric
405
KY0001929
11/30/2009
None
None
Station 2
Corporation
KY
Pulaski
John S.
East Kentucky
344
KY0003612
10/31/2013
None
None
Cooper
Power Cooperative
KY
Jefferson
Mill Greek
LGE and KU Energy
1717.2
KY0003221
10/31/2007
None
None
LLC
KY
Muhlenberg
Paradise
Tennessee Valley
2558.2
KY0004201
10/31/2009
None
None
Authority
-
KY
Webster
R. D Breen
Big Rivers Electric
586
KY0001929
11/30/2009
None
None
Corporation
KY
Webster
Robert Reid
Big Rivers Electric
96
KY0001929
11/30/2009
None
None
Corporation
KY
McCracken
Shawnee
Tennessee Valley
1750
KY0004219
8/31/2010
None
None
Authority
KY
Trimble
Trimble
LGE and KU Energy
1400.1
KY0041971
4/30/2015
None
None
County
LLC
KY
Woodford
Tyrone
Kentucky Utilities
75
KY0001899
1/31/2007
None
None
Company
KY
Clark
William C.
East Kentucky
216
KY0002194
11/30/2006
None
None
Dale
Power Cooperative
LA
Pointe
Big Cajun 2
Louisiana
1871
LA0054135
4/30/2014
None
None
Coupee
Generating, i
-
LA
Rapides
Brame Energy
Cleco Power LLC
558
LA0008036
3/31/2011
Lead
Lead
Center
LA
De Soto
Dolet Wits
Cleco Power LLC
720.7
LA0062600
10/28/2017
Lead
Lead
Power Station
LA
Calcasieu
R S Nelson
Entergy
614.6
LA0005843
9/30/2014
- Lead
Lead
Corporation
MA
Bristol
Brayton Point
Dominion Energy
1124.6
MA0003654
5/31/2017
Cadmium,
None
Brayton Point, LLC
Lead
MA
Hampden
Mount Tom
F1rstLight Power
136
MA0005339
9/17/1997
None
None
Resources
_
MA
Essex
-Salem Harbor
Footprint Power
329.6
MA0005096
10/29/1999
Arsenic,
None
Station
Salem Harbor
Cadmium,
Operations LLC
Lead, Mercury,
Selenium
Ash &
Scrubber
Ash &
Scrubber
Ash
Ash
Spring River
Methylmercury (Fish
Ash
Kansas River
Lead
Ash
Big Sandy River
Iron
Ash
121.1 to 138.5
Consumption Advisory)
Ash
Ohio River
Mercury in fish tissue
Scrubber
Ash
Herrington Lake
Methylmercury (Fish
Scrubber
Consumption Advisory):
Ash
Houston River -
Ph: Total Suspended
From Bear Head
Solids
Ash &
Scrubber
Ash & Ohio River Mercury (Fish
Scrubber (Cannelton to Consumption Advisory)
Newburgh)
Ash
Ash
Ash
Ash
Ash & Lake Methylmercury
Scrubber Cumberland
Ash & Ohio River /Mil
Scrubber Creek /Pond
Creek
Ash
Ash
Ash
Ash &
Scrubber
Scrubber
Ash
Kentucky River.
Methylmercury (Fish
53.2 to 66.95
Consumption Advisory)
Ash
Kentucky River,
Methylmercury (Fish
121.1 to 138.5
Consumption Advisory)
Ash
Ash
Ash &
Scrubber
Ash
Houston River -
From Bear Head
Creek to West
Fork Calcasieu
Ash
Mount Hope
Nutrients; Unknown
Bay
Toxicity
Ash
Connecticut
Mercury (Fish
River
Consumption Advisory)
Ash
Closing the Floodgates 35
MD
Allegany
AES Warrior
AES Corporation
229
Lower North
Cadmium; Nickel: Ph;
Run
MD
Anne
Brandon
Raven Power Fort
1370
Arundel
Shores
Smallwood LLC
Potomac River
MD
Baltimore
C P Crane
C.P. Crane LLC
399.8
MD
Prince
Chalk Point
GenOn Chalk. Point,
728
Cadmium,
George's
LLC
MD
Montgomery
Dickerson
GenOn Mid-
588
Atlantic, LLC
Selenium
MD
Anne
Herbert A
Raven Power Fort
495
6/30/2015
Arundel
Wagner
Smallwood LLC
Middle River -
MD
Charles
Morgantown
GenOn Mid-
1252
Browns Creek
Atlantic, LLC
MI
Muskegon
B C Cobb
Consumers Energy
312.6
MD0002658
6/30/2014
None
Company
Scrubber
Ml
Saint Clair
Belle River
Detroit Edison
1395
None
Ash&
Company
MI
Bay
Dan E Kam
Consumers Energy
544
Company
Mi
Ingham
Eckert Station
Lansing Board of
375
Selenium
Water and Light
MI
Hillsdale
Endicott
Michigan South
55
Generating
Central Power
Arsenic,
None
Ash &
Agency
MI
Eaton
Erickson
Lansing Board of
154.7
Water and Light
MI
Huron
Harbor Beacn
Detroit Edison
121
Selenium
Company
MI
Ottawa
J B Sims
Grand Haven Board
80
Rivers/
Mercury (Fish
of tight and Power
MI
Bay
J C Weadock
Consumers Energy
312.6
-
Company
040601021004
MI
Ottawa
J H Campbell
Consumers Energy
1585.9
Ash
Rivers/
Fish Consumption
Company
MI
Monroe
J R Whiting
Consumers Energy
345.4
Selenium
Company
Ml
Ottawa
James De
City of Holland
62.8
.Mercury
Ash
Young
Fish Consumption
MI
Monroe
Monroe
Detroit Edison
3279.6
Advisory
Company
MI
Marquette
Presque Isle
Wisconsin Electric
450
Mercury
None
Power Company
Mercury (Fish
MI
Wayne
River Rouge
Detroit Edison
650.6
Streams in HUC
Consumption Advisory)
Company
M1
Marquette
Shires
Marquette Board. of
77.5
10/1/2016
Arsenic,
Boron,
Light and Power
MI
Saint Clair
St. Clair
Detroit Edison
1547
Company
MI
Manistee
TES Filer City
CMS Enterprises
70
Station
Co.
MI
Wayne
Trenton.
Detroit Edison
775.5
Channel
Company
M10005428
Ml
Wayne
Wyandotte
Wyandotte
73
Mercury (Fish
Municipal Services
MN
Washington -
Allen S King
Northern States
598.4
Power (Xcel
M10001856
10/1/2014
Mercury,
Energy)
Ash
MD0066079
12/31/2017
None
None
Lower North
Cadmium; Nickel: Ph;
Branch
Phosphorus
Potomac River
MD000IS03
4/30/2014
Arsenic,
None
Scrubber
Cadmium,
Mercury, Lead.
Selenium
MDOW1511
6/30/2015
None
None
Ash
Middle River -
Browns Creek
(tidal)
MD0002658
6/30/2014
None
None
Scrubber
MD0002640
10/31/2014
Arsenic,
None
Ash&
Cadmium,
Scrubber
Mercury, Lead,
Selenium
MD0001503
413012014
None
None
Ash
MD0002674
10/31/2014
Arsenic,
None
Ash &
Cadmium,
Scrubber
Mercury, Lead,
Selenium
M10001520
10/1/2013
Mercury
None
Ash
Rivers/
Mercury (Fish
Streams in HUC
Consumption Advisory)
-
040601021004
M10038172
10/1/2013
Arsenic,
,Mercury,
Ash
Rivers/
Fish Consumption
Mercury,
Selenium
Streams in HUC
Advisory
Selenium
040900010407
M10001678
10/1/2011
Mercury
.Mercury
Ash
Rivers/
Fish Consumption
Streams in HUC
Advisory
040801030101
M10004464
10/1/2012
Mercury
None
Rivers/
Mercury (Fish
Streams in HUC
Consumption Advisory)
040500040703
M10039608
10/1/2016
Arsenic,
Boron,
Boron,
Selenium
Cadmium,
Mercury,
Selenium
M10005428
10,r 1/2012
Selenium
None
Rivers/
Mercury (Fish
Streams in HUC
Consumption Advisory)
040500040704
M10001856
10/1/2014
Mercury,
None
Ash
Selenium
1,110000728
10/1/2015
Mercury,
None
Ash&
Grand River
Mercury; Mercury in fish
Selenium
Scrubber
tissue
M10001678
10/1/2011
Mercury
Mercury
Ash
Rivers/
Fish Consumption
Streams in HUC
Advisory
040801030101
MIDD01422
10/1/2011
Mercury
None
Ash
M10001864
10/1/2012
Mercury, Lead,
Mercury
Ash
.Selenium
-
MIDDD1473
10/1/2011
None
None
Ash
Rivers/
Streams in HUC
040500020408
M10001848
10/1/2014
Mercury
Mercury
- Ash &
Rivers/
Mercury (Fish
Scrubber
Streams in HUC
Consumption Advisory)
041000020410
M10006106
10/1/2012
None
None
Ash
M10001724
10/1/2012
Boron,
None
Ash
Rivers/ -
Mercury (Fish
Mercury,
Streams in HUC
Consumption Advisory)
Selenium
040900040407
M10006076
10/1/2012
Arsenic,
None
Ash
Mercury,
Selenium
MI0001686
10/1/2013
Mercury
Mercury
Ash
None
None
None
None
M10001791
10/1/2012
Mercury
None
Ash
M10038105
10/1/2012
Cadmium,
Mercury
Ash
Mercury,
Selenium
MN0000825
1/31/2010
None
None
Ash
36 Closing the Floodgates
MN
Dakota
Black Dog
Northern States
293.1
Energy Center
Power (xcel
MO
Franklin
Labadie
Energy)
2389.4
MN
Itasca
- Boswell
Minnesota Power,
1072.5
MO
Buchanan
Energy Center
Inc.
90
MN
Otter Tai:
Hoot Lake
Otter Tail Power
129.4
Company
MN
Saint Lows
Laskin Energy
Minnesota Power,
116
Center
.Inc.
MN
Sherburne
Sherburne
Northern States
2430.6
County
Power(xsel
MO
New Madrid
New Madrid
Energy)
1200
MN
Olmsted
Silver Lake
Rochester Public
99
MO
Jefferson
Rush Island
Utilities
1242
MN
Cook
Taconite
Minnesota Power,
252.
MO
Jackson
Harbor Energy
Inc.
524
Center
Missouri Operations
MO
Jasper
Asbury
Empire District
231.5
MO
Scott
Sikeston
Electric Company
261
MO
Jackson
Blue Valley
Independence
115
MO
Saint Charles
Sioux
Power and Light
1099.4
MO
Osage
Chamois
Associated Electric
59
MO
Randolph
Power Plant
Cooperative, Inc.
1135
MO
Boone
Columbia
City of Columbia
38.5
MO Jackson Hawthorn Kansas City Power 594.3
& Licht Company
MO Platte latan Kansas City Power 1640
& Light Company
MO Greene James River City of Springfield. 253
MO
MO
Greene
John Twitty
City of Springfield.
494
Energy Center
MO
MO
Franklin
Labadie
Union Electric
2389.4
Company
MO
Buchanan
Lake Road
KCP &L Greater
90
Missouri Operations
Company
MO
Saint Louis
Meramec
Union Electric
923
Company
MO
Henry
Montrose
Kansas City Power
564
& Light Company
MO
New Madrid
New Madrid
Associated Electric
1200
Power Plant
Cooperative; Inc.
MO
Jefferson
Rush Island
Union Electric
1242
Company
MO
Jackson
Sibley
KCP &L Greater
524
Missouri Operations
Company
MO
Scott
Sikeston
Sikeston Bid, of
261
Municipal Utilities
MO
Saint Charles
Sioux
Union Electric
1099.4
Company
MO
Randolph
Thomas Hill
Associated Electric
1135
Energy Center
Cooperative. Inc.
MS
Jackson
Daniel Electric
Mississippi Power
1096.6
Generating
Company
Plant
MS
Lamar
R D Morrow
South. Mississippi
400
Senior
Elec. Power Assoc
Generating
Plant
MS
Choctaw
Red Hills
Tractebel Power,
- 513.7
Generation
Inc.
Facility
MS
Harrison
Watson
Mississippi Power
877.2
Electric
Company
Generating
Plant
MT
Big Horn
Hardin
Colorado Energy
115.7
Generating
Management, LLC
Station
MN0000876 2/28/2013 Mercury None
MNODOIO07 2/29/2012
MN0002011 11/30/2012
MN0000990 3/31/2010
MN0002186 7/31/2014
MN0001139 2/28/2013
MN0002208 11/30/2010
M00095362 12/1/2010
M00115924 5/5/2015
M00004766 5/15/2008
M00004979 7/5/2017
M00004855 7/27/2005
M00082996 2/5/2009
MOR109251 3/7/2012
M00089940 8/12/2015
M00004812 3/17/1999
M000W98 6/12,12008
M00000361 5/18/2005
MO0101737 3/26/2014
MOOOOI171 4/21/2016
MOOOON43 9/30/2009
M00004871 11/2/2005
M00095575 2/12/2014
M00000353 4/15/2009
M00097675 12/25/2008
MS0024511 12/31/2013
Lead, Mercury Mercury
Mercury None
Boron, Mercury
Mercury,
Selenium
None None
None None
Mercury None
None None
None None
None None
Arsenic. None
Cadmium,
Mercury, Lead,
Selenium
None None
None None
Arsenic, None
Boron,
Cadmium.
Lead, Mercury,
Selenium
Selenium Selenium
None None
None None
None None
Boron None
None None
None None
None None
None None
None None
None None
None None
MS0028258 12/31/2010 None None
MS0053881 12,/31/2016 Selenium Selenium
Ash
Ash & Blackwater
Scrubber
Ash &
Scrubber
Ash
Ash
Ash
Ash
Ash Lake Springfield
Ash
Ash
Ash
Ash Mississippi River Manganese; Fish
Consumotion Advisory
Ash
Ash
Ash
Ash &
Scrubber
Ash
Ash &
Scrubber
Ash
Ash &
Scrubber
MS0002925 11/30/2013 None None Ash
MTR000457 9/30/2011 None None
Closing the Floodgates 37
MT0000396
MT
Yellowstone
J E Corette
P P& L Montana.,
172.8
LLC
River
M10000302
MT
Richland
Lewis & Clark
Montana Dakota
50
n
`
Utilities Company
River
NC
Buncombe
Asheville
Carolina Power $
Light Company
413.6
Cadmium,
Scrubber
-t� I
�(
NC
Stokes
Belews Creek
Duke Energy
2160.:
OOp{{{
Selenium
Corporation
NCO024406
2/28/2017
Arsenic,
None
Ash &
NC
Rowan
Buck
Duke Energy
250
Selenium
Carolinas, LLC
'r
NC0004774
8/31/2016
Arsenic;
None
Ash
rr
NC
Cleveland
Cliffside
Duke Energy
570.9
(� J
Mercury
Corporation
J
NC0005OBS
7/31/2015
Arsenic,
None
Ash &
NC
£dgecombe
Edgecombe
Ed9ecombe Genco,
114.8
Genco, LLC
LLC
Mercury
t
NC
Gaston
G G Allen
Duke Energy
1155
NC0004979
5/31/2015
Arsenic,
Corporation
Ash &
Cadmium.
Scrubber
2J
NC
New Hanover
LVSutton
Carolina Power &
671.6
Selenium
Light Company
NC0001422
12/31/2016
Arsenic,
Arsenic,
Ash
3 `(�1'�
NC
Robeson
Lumberton
Lumberton Energy,
34.7
,"
Power
LLC
4
NC
Marshall
Marshall
Tennessee Valley
1996
N00004987
4/30/2015
Arsenic, Boron,
Authority
Ash &
J
NC
Person
Mayo
Carolina Power &
735.8
NCO038377
3/31/2012
Arsenic.,
Light Company
Ash &
J v
Cadmium,Lead,
Lead, Mercury,
Scrubber
C'
Selenium.,
- Boron
-
NC
Gaston
Riverbend
Duke Energy
466
Corporation
raj
NC0004961
2/28/2015
Arsenic,
Mercury,
None
Ash
l
NC
Person
Roxboro
Carolina Power&
2558.2
rrr���jjjCCC
Light Company
/S
NC
Halifax
Westmoreland
Westmoreland
182.3
Partners
Partners LLC
Scrubber
v7"
NCS000229
6/30/2012
Roanoke
None
NCS000229
6/30/2012
Valley 1
None
INC
Halifax
Westmoreland
Westmoreland
57.8
l ,C
ND0024996
3/31/2013
Partners
Partners LLC
Ash
j
ND0025232
12/31/2016-
Roanoke
None
Ash
Valley II
ND
Mercer
Antelope
Basin Electric
869.8
Valley
Power Cooperative
ND
Mercer
Coyote
Otter Tail Power
450
Company
Scrubber
ND
Mercer
Leland Olds
Basin Electric
656
ND0000299
12/31/2016
Arsenic,
Power Cooperative
Ash
ND
Oliver
Milton R
Minnkota Power
- 734
Young
Cooperative, Inc.
ND
Marton
R M Heskett
Montana Dakota
115
NED111546
9/30/2016
None
Utilities Company
ND
Mercer
Stanton
Great River Energy
190.2
WE
Lincoln
Gerald
Nebraska Public
1362.6
-
Gentleman
Power District
NE00D1252
6/30/2015
Station
None
WE
Adams
Gerald Whelan
Nebraska Municipal
324.3
NE0111635
6/30/2013
Energy Center
Energy Agency
Ash
NE
Dodge
Lon D Wright
City of Fremont
130
Power Plant
NE
Circe
Nebraska City
Omaha Public
- 13816
NE0000621
9/30/2023
Station
Power District
Ash
WE
Douglas
North Omaha
Omaha Public
644.7
Station
Power District
WE
Hall
Platte
Grand Island
109.8
Utilities Dept.
MT0000396
3/1/2005
None
None
Ash
Yellowstone. Arsenic; Nutrients
River
M10000302
11/30/2005
None
None
Ash
Yellowstone Chromium, Copper. Lead
River
NCO000396
12/31/2019
Arsenic,
Mercury
Ash <&
Cadmium,
Scrubber
Mercury, Lead,
Selenium
NCO024406
2/28/2017
Arsenic,
None
Ash &
Mercury,
Scrubber
Selenium
NC0004774
8/31/2016
Arsenic;
None
Ash
Selenium.
Mercury
NC0005OBS
7/31/2015
Arsenic,
None
Ash &
Selenium,
Scrubber
Cadmium,
Mercury
NCO077437
10/31%2014
None
None
NC0004979
5/31/2015
Arsenic,
None
Ash &
Cadmium.
Scrubber
Mercury,
Selenium
NC0001422
12/31/2016
Arsenic,
Arsenic,
Ash
Mercury,
Selenium
Selenium
NCO058301
7/31/2014
Mercury
None
N00004987
4/30/2015
Arsenic, Boron,
Selenium
Ash &
Selenium
Scrubber
NCO038377
3/31/2012
Arsenic.,
Cadmium.
Ash &
Cadmium,Lead,
Lead, Mercury,
Scrubber
Selenium.,
- Boron
-
Mercury, Boron
NC0004961
2/28/2015
Arsenic,
Mercury,
None
Ash
Q
Selenium
NCO065081
5/31/2012
Cadmium., Lead
Cadmium,
Ash &
Lead
Scrubber
NCS000229
6/30/2012
None
None
NCS000229
6/30/2012
None
None
ND0024945
6/30/2013
None
None
Ash
ND0024996
3/31/2013
None
None
Ash
ND0025232
12/31/2016-
Arsenic,
None
Ash
Cadmium,
Mercury, Lead,
Selenium
ND0000370
6/30/2015
Boron
None
Ash &
Scrubber
ND0000264
3131/2013
None
None
Ash
ND0000299
12/31/2016
Arsenic,
None
Ash
Cadmium,
Mercury, Lead.
Selenium
NED111546
9/30/2016
None
None
NE0113506
9/30/2017
Cadmium,
None
Ash &
Mercury, Lead,
Scrubber
-
Selenium
NE00D1252
6/30/2015
Cadmium,
None
Mercury, Lead
NE0111635
6/30/2013
Arsenic,
None
Ash
Cadmium,
Mercury. Lead,
Selenium
NE0000621
9/30/2023
Arsenic,
None
Ash
Cadmium,
Mercury, Lead
NE0113646
9/30/2017
None
None
Ash
38 Closing the Floodgates
NE Lancaster Sheldon :Nebraska Public 228.7
Power District
NH Merrimack Merrimack Public Service of 459.2
New Hampshire
NN Rockingham Schiller Public Service of 100
New Hampshire
NJ
Hudson
Hudson
PSEG
659.7
NH0001465
7/31/1997
Generating
Company, LLC
Ash &
Selenium
Ph; Total Suspended
Station
7/31/2015
Scrubber
NJ
Gloucester
Logan
Logan Generating
242.3
NY
Onondaga
Generating
Co. LP
101.1
or Maumee
Selenium
Plant
Generation NA
7/31/2012
NJ
Mercer
Mercer
PSEG
652.8
ON
Ashtabula
Generating
FirstEnergy,
256
OH0005371
7/31/2012
Station
Generation
HM
Manley
Escalante
Tri-State Generation
237
ON
Lorain
Avon Lake
& Transmission
766
NM
San Juan
Four Corners
Anzona Public
2269.6
OH0028762
7/31/2013
Steam Elec
Service Company
Leading Creek
ON
Lucas
Station
FirstEnergy
498.8
NM
San Juan
San Juan
Public Service
1848
NN0000019
4/6/2006
None
Company of New
Ash
ON
Jefferson
Cardinal
Mexico
1880.4
NY
Jefferson
Black River
Black River
55.5
ON
Coshocton
Generation,
Generation, LLC
1890.8
LLC
Company
NY
Tompkins
Cayuga
Cayuga Operating
322.5
Operating
Company, LLC
Scrubber
Company,
Corporation
ON
Gallia
LLC
Ohio Power
2600
NY
Orange
Dynegy
Dynegy Power
386.5
-
Danskammer
Corporation
NY
Erie
Huntley Power
Huntley Power, .LLC
436
NY Chautauqua NRG Dunkirk NRG Energy, Inc 627.2
Power
NY
Niagara.
Somerset
Somerset Operating
655.1
NH0001465
7/31/1997
Operating
Company, LLC
Ash &
Selenium
Ph; Total Suspended
Company
7/31/2015
Scrubber
NH0001473
9/30,/1995
(Kintigh)
None
Lake Ene
NY
Onondaga
Syracuse
SUEZ Energy
101.1
or Maumee
Selenium
Energy
Generation NA
7/31/2012
Arsenic, Boron,
None
Corporation
Ash &
Mercury, Lead,
ON
Ashtabula
Ashtabula
FirstEnergy,
256
OH0005371
7/31/2012
Arsenic
Generation
NJO076872
9/30/2011
Arsenic
Corporation
Central Basin
ON
Lorain
Avon Lake
GenOn Power
766
Ohio River
OH0001139
Power Plant
Operating Services
None
OH0028762
7/31/2013
Mercury,
Midwest, Inc.
Leading Creek
ON
Lucas
Bay Shore
FirstEnergy
498.8
NMR05A996
10./29/2005
None
Generation
Selenium
NN0000019
4/6/2006
None
Corporation
Ash
ON
Jefferson
Cardinal
Cardinal Operating
1880.4
to Mouth)
Selenium
Company
ON
Coshocton
Conesville
Ohio Power
1890.8
Mercury, Lead
Company
ON
Lake
Eastlake
FirstEnergy
1257
Cadmium,
Generation
Scrubber
Mercury, Lead,
Corporation
ON
Gallia
Gen J M Gavin
Ohio Power
2600
NY0006262
5/31/2011
Arsenic,
Company
Ash
ON Butler
NE0111490
9/30/2016
Cadmium. Lead
None
Ash
NH0001465
7/31/1997
Cadmium, Lead
None
Ash &
Selenium
Ph; Total Suspended
OH0002925
7/31/2015
Scrubber
NH0001473
9/30,/1995
Arsenic.
None
Lake Ene
Arsenic, Total Suspended
Cadmium,
Solids; Oil & Grease
or Maumee
Selenium
Mercury, Lead,
OH0012581
7/31/2012
Arsenic, Boron,
None
Selenium
Ash &
Mercury, Lead,
NJ0000647
9/30/2016
Mercury, Lead,
None
Ash
OH0005371
7/31/2012
Arsenic
Mercury,
NJO076872
9/30/2011
Arsenic
Arsenic
Central Basin
NJ0004995
10/31/2011
Arsenic,
None
Ash
Ohio River
OH0001139
Cadmium,
Mercury
None
OH0028762
7/31/2013
Mercury,
Mercury
Leading Creek
Mercury; Zinc; Ph; Nickel
Cadmium.
Selenium, Lead
-
NMR05A996
10./29/2005
None
None
Selenium
NN0000019
4/6/2006
None
None
Ash
NM0028606
3/31/2016
Boron,
None
to Mouth)
Selenium
NY0206938
7/31/2017
Arsenic,
Arsenic, Lead,
Mercury, Lead
Mercury
NY0001333
12/31/2014
Arsenic, Boron.
Arsenic,
Ash &
Cadmium,
Cadmium,
Scrubber
Mercury, Lead,
Mercury, Lead,
Selenium
Selenium
NY0006262
5/31/2011
Arsenic,
Arsenic,
Ash
-
Cadmium,
Cadmium,
Mercury, Lead,
Mercury, Lead,
Selenium
Selenium
NY0001023
6/1/2008
Arsenic,
Lead
Cadmium,
_
Mercury, Lead,
Selenium
NY0002321
4/30/2015
Arsenic,
Mercury. Lead
Ash
Cadmium,
Mercury, Lead,
Selenium
NY0104213
12/31/2013
Arsenic, Boron,
Mercury
Mercury
NY0213586
4/30/2015
Lead
None
OH0001121
1/31/2013
Mercury
Mercury
OH0001112
7/31/2015
Mercury,
Mercury
Ash
Selenium
Ph; Total Suspended
OH0002925
7/31/2015
Arsenic, Boron,
Mercury
Shoreline
Cadmium,
Lake Ene
Arsenic, Total Suspended
Mercury, Lead,
Solids; Oil & Grease
or Maumee
Selenium
OH0012581
7/31/2012
Arsenic, Boron,
None
Ash &
Mercury, Lead,
Iron
Scrubber
(Upper South)
Selenium
-
OH0005371
7/31/2012
Boron,
Mercury,
Ash
Cadmium,
Selenium
Central Basin
Mercury, Lead.
Shoreline
Selenium
Ohio River
OH0001139
1/31/2013
Mercury
None
OH0028762
7/31/2013
Boron,
Mercury
Leading Creek
Mercury; Zinc; Ph; Nickel
Cadmium.
to Upstream
Mercury.
Great
Selenium
Hamilton City of Hamilton 75.6 OH0010413 7/31/2014 Mercury None
Municipal
Power Plant
Merrimack River
Lower
Piscataqua
River
Hudson River Cadmium; PCBS
Ash &
Lake Erie
Ph; Total Suspended
Scrubber
Central Basin
Solids
Shoreline
Ash
Lake Erie
Ph; Total Suspended
Central Basin
Solids
Shoreline
Ash
Lake Ene
Arsenic, Total Suspended
Tributaries (East
Solids; Oil & Grease
or Maumee
River to West of
Toussaint River)
Ash &
Ohio River
Iron
Scrubber
(Upper South)
Ash &
Scrubber
Ash
Lake Erie
Ph; Total Suspended
Central Basin
Solids
Shoreline
Ash&
Ohio River
Arsenic; Boron; Cadmium:
Scwbber
Tributaries
Chromium; Cobalt;
(Downstream
Copper; Iron; Lead;
Leading Creek
Mercury; Zinc; Ph; Nickel
to Upstream
Kanawha River)
Great
Fish Consumption
Miami River
Advisory
(Downstream
Fourmile Creek
to Mouth)
Ciosng the Floodgates 39
ON
Adams
J M Stuart
Dayton Power and
2440.8
OH0004316
6/30 #2(107
Caomrum.
None
Ash &
Light Company
Mercury,
:Scrubber
Lead, Boron,
Arsenic
ON
Adams
Killen Station
Dayton Power and
660.6
OH0060046
1/31/2013
Arsenic,
None
- Ash &
Light Company
Boron.
Scrubber
Cadmium,
Mercury. Lead,
Selenium
ON
Gallia
Kyger Creek
Ohio Valley Electric
1086.5
OH0005282
7/31/2013
Arsenic,
Mercury
Ash &
Ohio River
Arsenic; Boron; Cadmium:
Corporation
Boron,
Scrubber
Tributaries
Chromium; capper;
Cadmium.
(Downstream
Iron; Lead; Manganese;
Mercury, Lead,
Leading Creek
Mercury; Molybdeum;
Selenium
to Upstream
Nickel; Selenium; Silver;
Kanawha River)
Zinc; Ph
ON
Cuyahoga
Lake Shore
FirstEnergy
256
OHOOOI147
7/31/2016
Mercury
Mercury
Ash
Lake Erie
Ph: Total Suspended
Generation
Central Basin
Solids
Corporation
Shoreline
ON
Hamilton
Miami Fort
Duke Energy Ohio,
1278
OH0009873
7/31/2013
Arsenic,
None
Ash &
Generating
Inc.
Boron,
Scrubber
Station
Cadmium,
Mercury. Lead,
Selenium
ON
Washington
Muskingum
Ohio Power
1529.4
OH0006149
7/31/2011
Arsenic,
None
Ash
River
Company
Mercury
ON
Montgomery
0 H- Hutchings
Dayton Power and
414
OH0009261
7/31/2014
Mercury,
Selenium
Ash
Light Company
Selenium
ON
Pickaway
Picway
Ohio Power
106.2
OH0005398
6./30/2017
None
None
Ash
Big Walnut
Company
Creek
ON
Jefferson
W H Sammis
FirstEnergy
2455.6
CHOOI1525
7/31/2012
Mercury.
None
Ash &
Ohio. River
Iron
Generation
Selenium,
Scrubber
(Upper North)
Corporation
Boron,
Cadmium,
Lead
ON
Clermont
W H Zimmer
Duke Energy Ohio,
1425.6
OH0048836
1/31/2015
Arsenic,
Mercury
Scrubber
Generating
Inc.
Boron.
. Station
Cadmium,
Mercury, Lead,
Selenium
ON
Clermont
Walter C
Duke Energy Ohio.
12213
OH0009865
7/31/2013
Arsenic.
Selenium
Ash
Ohio River
Seckjord
Inc.
Boron,
Tributaries
Generating
Cadmium,
(Upstream Big
.Station
Mercury. Lead,
Indian Run to
Selenium
Upstream tittle
Miami River
OK
Le Flore
AES Shady
350
OK0040169
2/29/2016
None
None
Point LLC
OK
Mayes
Grand River
Grand Rrver Dam
1134
OK0035149
12/31/2014
None
None
Grand Neosho
Dam Authority
Authority
River
OK
Choctaw
Hugo
Western
446
OK0035327
5/31/2013
None
None
Ash
Washita River
Lead; Turbidity
.Farmers Electric
Cooperative, Inc.
OK
Muskogee
Muskogee
Oklahoma Gas &
1716
OKW34657
3/31/2016
None
None
Ash
Electric Company
OK
Rogers
Northeastern
Public Service
946
OK0034380
12/14/2011
Arsenic,
None
Ash
Company of
Mercury
Oklahoma
OK
Noble
Sooner
Oklahoma Gas&
1138
OK0035068
4/30/2011
None
None
Ash
Electric Company
PA
Beaver
AES Beaver
AES Corporation
114
PA0218936
5/24/2007
None
None
Wexford Run
Nutrients
Valley LLC
PA
Beaver
Bruce
FirstEnergy
2741.1
PA0027481
11/30/2011
None
None
Ash &
Hayden Run
Nutrients
Mansfield
Generation
Scrubber
Creek/ Wexford
Corporation
Run
PA
York
Brunner Island
PPL Generation,
1558.7
PA0008281
9/30/2011
Arsenic,
Lead,
.Ash
LLC
Boron,
Selenium
Cadmium,
Mercury, Lead,
Selenium
PA
Cambria
Cambria
Cambria CoGen
98
PA0204153
9/30/2012
None
None
Cogan
Company
PA
Allegheny
Cheswick
GenOn Power
637
PA0001627
8/31/2012
Arsenic,
Cadmium,
Ash &
Little Deer
Aluminum; Arsenic;
Midwest, LP
Boron,
Mercury, Lead,
Scrubber
Creek
Cadmium; Chronium;
Cadmium,
Selenium
Copper; Lead; Iron;
Mercury, Lead,
Manganese; Mercury;
Selenium
-
Molybdeum; Selenium;
Silver; Ti Zinc
PA
Cambria
GdlverPower
AJCPower - Colver
118
PA0204269
9/I9 /2000
None
None
Elk Creek
Arsenic; Cadmium;
Project
Operations
Chronium; Copper; Iron;
Mercury, Zinc; Lead
PA
Indiana
Conemaugh
GenOn Northeast
1872
PA0005011
12/27/2006
Arsenic,
Mercury. Lead,
Ash &
Management
Boron,
Selenium
Scrubber
Company
Cadmium,
Mercury, Lead,
Selenium
40
Closing the Floodgates
PA
Cambria
Ebensburg
Power Systems
57.6
PA0001571
9/20/2001
Power
Operations. Inc.
Ash
PA0061697
9/1/2014
Company
None
PA
Washington
Elrama
GenOn Power
510
-
Midwest. LP
PA
Schuylkill
Gilberton
Broad Mountain
88.4
Power
Partners
Scrubber
SCO037401
8/31/2010
Company
None
Ash
PA
Greene
Hatfield's
Allegheny Energy
1729
SC0001091
2/29/2008
Ferry Power
Selenium
Scrubber
SCOD02046
4/30/2009
Station
None
PA
Indiana
Homer City
NRG Homer City
2012
Selenium
Services LLC
PA
Armstrong
Keystone
GenOn Northeast
1872
Boron.
Management
Scrubber
Cadmium.
Company
PA
Washington
Mitchell Power
Allegheny Energy
299.2
Station
PA
Montour
Montour
PPL Generation,
1641.7
LLC
Scrubber
PA
Lawrence
New Castle
GenOn Power
348
Boron,
Midwest, LP
PA
Northampton
Northampton
NAES Corporation
- 114.1
Generating
Plant
PA
Schuylkill
Northeastern
Neoco Services
59
PAR702217
6/2/2015
Power
Company
PA0061417
1/31/2014
Company
None
PA
York
P H Glatfelter
P H Glatfelter
70.4
PA0005029
10/31/2017
Company
Company
PA
Clarion
Piney Creek
Piney Creek Limited
36.2
PA0103713
12/31/2017
Power Plant
Partnership
PA
Northampton
Portland
GenOn REMA, LLC
427
PA
Venango
Scrubgrass
Scrubgrass
94.7
PA0010031
8/31/2015
Generating
Generating
Plant
Company
PA
Indiana
Seward
GenOn Wholesale
585
Generation, LP
PA
Clearfield
Shawville
GeaOn REMA, LLC
626
PA
Snyder
Sunbury
Sunbury
437.9
Generation, LP
PA
Barks
Titus
GehOn REMA, LLC
225
PA
Schuylkill
Wheelabrator
Wheelabrator
48
- Frackville
Frackville Energy
Company, Inc.
PA
Schuylkill
WPS
Olympus Power,
36
Westwood
LLC
Generation,
LLC
SC
Colleton
Canadys
South Carolina
489.6
Steam
Electric & Gas
Company
SC
Orangeburg
Cope Station
South Carolina
417.3
Electric & Gas
Company
SC
Berkeley
Cross
Santee Cooper
2390.1
SC
Horry
Dolphus M
Santee Cooper
163.2
Grainger
SC
Berkeley
Jefferies
Santee Cooper
345.6
SC
Lexington
McMeekin
South Carolina
293.6
Electric & Gas
Company
PA0098612
7/31/2011
None
None
PA0001571
9/20/2001
None
None
Ash
PA0061697
9/1/2014
None
None
PA0002941
12/31/2008
Arsenic,
Mercury, Lead,
Scrubber
Boron,
Selenium
SCW45772
9/30/2014
Cadmium.
None
Ash &
Mercury, Lead.
Scrubber
SCO037401
8/31/2010
Selenium
None
Ash
PAD005037
7/31/2012
Arsenic,
Lead,
Ash &
SC0001091
2/29/2008
Boron,
Selenium
Scrubber
SCOD02046
4/30/2009
Cadmium,
None
Mercury, Lead,
Selenium
PA0002062
3/31/2013
Arsenic,
Mercury, Lead,
Ash &
Boron.
Selenium
Scrubber
Cadmium.
Mercury, Lead,
Selenium
PA0002895
9/30/1996
Boron
Boron
Ash &.
Scrubber
PA0008443
1/31/2013
Arsenic,
Cadmium,
Scrubber
Boron,
Mercury.
Cadmium.
Selenium
Mercury, Lead,
Selenium
PA0005061
4/6/2010
None
None
Ash
PAR702217
6/2/2015
None
None
PA0061417
1/31/2014
None
None
PA0008869
6/30/2012
Boron
None
PA0005029
10/31/2017
None
None
PA0012475
7/15/2007
None
None
PA0103713
12/31/2017
None
None
PA0002054
7/18,/2015
Arsenic,
None
Mercury, Lead
PA0010031
8/31/2015
None
None
PA0008451 3/31/2012 Arsenic., None Ash
Cadmium,
Mercury, Lead,
Selenium
PA0010782
9/30/2015
None
None
PA0061263
9/30/2016
None
None
AtunHum; Arsenic;
PA0061344
4/30/2017
None
None
S00002020
6/30/2009
Arsenic.
Arsenic,
Ash
Mercury
Mercury
SCW45772
9/30/2014
Mercury
None
Ash &
Scrubber
SCO037401
8/31/2010
Mercury
None
Ash
SCOG01104
9/30/2006
Arsenic
None
Ash
SC0001091
2/29/2008
Arsenic
None
Ash
SCOD02046
4/30/2009
Arsenic
None
W Creek Arsenic; Cadmium;
Chromium; Copper; Iron
Lead; Mercury; Zinc
IJleghany River Mercury
Ccnemaugh Aluminum; Arsenic;
River
- Cadmium; Chromium;
Cobalt; Copper; Iron;
Manganese; Mercury;
Nickel; Zinc; Ph
West Branch
AtunHum; Arsenic;
Susduehanna
Cadmium; Chromium;
River
Capper; Iron; Lead;
Manganese; Mercury;
Nickel; Zinc
Mill Creek Arsenic; Cadmium:
Chronum; Copper; Iron;
Lead; Mercury: Zinc
Lower Rausch Arsenic Cadmium :,
Creek Chromium; Copper; Iron:
Lead; Mercury; Zinc
Waccamaw
River
Closing the Floodgates 41
SC
Aiken
Urquhart
South Carolina
100
SCOOD0574
9/30/2008
Mercury
None
Ash
Electric & Gas
Company
SC
Anderson
W S Lee
Duke Energy
355
SC0002291
6/30/2013
Arsenic,
None
Ash
Corporation
Cadmium,
Mercury, Lead
SC
Richland
Wateree
South Carolina
771.8
SCO002038
12/31/2012
Arsenic,
None
Ash
Electric & Gas
Mercury
Company
SC
Berkeley
Williams
South Carolina
632.7
SC0003883
5/31/2014
Arsenic,
Arsenic,
Ash &
Generating
Cadmium,
-. Selenium
Scrubber
Company
Mercury,
Selenium
SC
Georgetown
Winyah
Santee Cooper
1260
SCO022471
7/31/2011
Arsenic.
Arsenic.
Ash
Selenium
Selenium
TN
Shelby
Allen
Tennessee Valley
990
TN0005355
8/3/2010
None
None
Ash
McKellar Lake Mercury; Nickel; Ph: Total
Authority
Suspended Solids
TN
Anderson
Bull Run
Tennessee Valley
950
TN0005410
11/1/2013
Arsenic,
None
Ash$
Authority
Cadmium,
Scrubber
Mercury. Lead,
Selenium
TN
Stewart
Cumberland
Tennessee Valley
2600
TN0005789
5/31/2010
Cadmium,
None
Ash &
Authority
Mercury, Lead,
Scrubber
Selenium
TN
Sumner
Gallatin
Tennessee Valley
1255.2
TN0005428
5/31/2017
Arsenic,
None
Ash
Authority
Cadmium.
Mercury, Lead,
Selenium
TN
Hawkins
John Sevier
Tennessee Valley
800
TN0005436
6/30/2014
Arsenic,
Arsenic,
Ash
Cherokee Mercury
Authority
Cadmium,
Selenium
Reservoir
Mercury, Lead,
Selenium
TN
Humphreys
Johnsonville
Tennessee Valley
1485.2
TNOWS444
11/29/2013
Arsenic,
None
Ash
-
Authority
Cadmium,
Mercury. Lead,
Selenium
TN
Roane
Kingston
Tennessee Valley
1700
- TN0005452
8/31/2008
None
None
Scrubber
Clinch River Mercury
Authority
Arm of Watts
Bar Reservoir
TN
Spring City
Watts Bar
Tennessee Valley
240
TN0005461
8/31/2016
Arsenic,
None
Ash
Fossil
Authority
Cadmium,
Mercury, Lead,
Selenium
TX
Freestone
Big Brown
Luminant
1186.8
TX0030180
21112012
Selenium
- Selenium
Ash
Generation
Company LLC
TX
Goliad
CGIeto Creek
Coleto Creek
622.4
TX0070068
2/1/2010
None
None
Ash
Power, LP
-
TX
Grimes
Gibbons Creek
Texas Municipal
453.5
TX0074438
5/1/2011
Selenium
Selenium
Steam Electric
Power Agency
Station
TX
Harrison
H W Pirkey
Southwestern
721
TX0087726
4/1/2011
Selenium
Selenium
Ash &
Power Plant
Electric Power
Scrubber
Company
TX
Potter
Harrington
Southwestern
1080
TX0124575
10/1/2015
Boron
None
Station
Public Service
Company
TX
Bexar
J K- Spruce
City of San Antonio
1444
TXG063681
3/1/2015
Selenium
Selenium
Ash &
Scrubber
TX
Bexar
J T Deely
City of San Antonio
932
TX0063681
3/1/2015
Selenium
Selenium
Ash &
Scrubber
TX
Limestone
Limestone
NRG Energy, Inc
1867.2
TX0082651
12/1/2013
Selenium
Selenium
Ash
TX
Rusk
Martn Lake
Lummant
2379.6
TX0054500
4/1/2012
Selenium
Selenium
Ash &
Generation
Scrubber
Company LLC
TX
Titus
Monticello
Lummant
1880
TX0000086
2/1/2010
Selenium
Selenium
Ash &
Generation
-
Scrubber
Company LLC
TX
Robertson
Oak Grove
Oak Grove
1795.4
TX0068021
5/1/2014
Selenium
Selenium
Ash &
Management
Scrubber
Company LLC
TX
Wilbarger
Okiaunlon
West Texas Utilities
720
TX0087815
12/1/2015
Arsenic,
Arsenic,
Ash
Power Station
Company
Cadmium,
Cadmium,
Mercury. Lead,
Mercury, Lead,
Selenium
Selenium
TX
Robertson
Ophm Energy
Optim Energy Twin
349.2
7X0101168
12/1/201'
Selenium
Selenium
Twin. Oaks
Oaks.LP
TX
Fayette
Sam Seymour
Lower Colorado
1690
7X0073121
12/1/2014
Selenium
Selenium
Ash
River Authority
TX
Atascosa
San Miguel
San Miguel Electric
410
TX0090611
5/1/2015
None
None
Cooperative, Inc.
42 Cicsing the Floodgates
TX
McLennan
Sandy Creek
Sandy Creek
900
7X0006394
7/1,/2014
Energy -
Energy Associates,
Ash
TX0063215
2/1/2016
Station
LP
Ash
TX
Fort Bend
W A Parish
NRG Energy. Inc
2736.8
TX
Titus
Welsh Power
Southwestern
1674
UTR000446
12/31/2012
Plant
Electric Power
UT0023604
11/30/2012
None
Company
UT
Umtah
Bonanza
Deseret Generation
499.5
VA0087645
12/7/2014
zero discharge
& Transmission
UT
Carbon
Carbon
Pacificorp Energy
188.6
VA0004138
7/31/2015
None
Generation
Ash
UT
Emery
Hunter
Paahcorp Energy
1472.2
VA0004146
12/9/2009
None
Generation
Ash
UT
Emery
Huntington
Pacihcorp Energy
996
VAG083097
1/12/2016
None
Generation
Ash
VA
Campbell
Altavista
Dominion
711
VA0073300
9/30/2017
Power Station
Generation
VA
King George
Birchwood
General Electric
258.3
VA0000370
7/10/2014
Power Facility
Company
VA
Fluvanna
Bremo Power
Dominion
254.2
VA0084069
12/20/2016
Station
Generation
VA
Chesapeake
Chesapeake
Dominion
649.5
VA0085499
(City)
Energy Center
Generation
VA
Chesterfield
Chesterfield
Dominion
1352.9
WARW1818
12/31/2014
Power Station
Generation
VA
Russell
Clinch River
Appalachian Power
712.5
W10002887
12/31/2007
Mercury
Company
VA
Halifax
Clover Power
Dominion
848
WIO301589
9/30/2008
Station
Generation
VA
Hopewell
Cogentrix-
James River
114.8
W10000914
(City)
Hopewell
Cogeneration.
W40003239
6/30/2013
Mercury
Company
VA
Portsmouth
Cogentrix-
Cogentrix
114.8
W10002381
(City)
Portsmouth
Virginia Leasing
Ash
Corporation
VA
Giles
Glen Lyn
Appalachian Power
337.5
Company
VA
Hopewell
Hopewell
Dominion
71.1
(City)
Power Station
Generation
VA
Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg
Dominion
139.8
Power Station
Generation
VA
Southampton
Southampton
Dominion
71.1
Power Station
- Generation
VA
Richmond
Spruance
Spruance Genoo
229.6
(City)
Genet, LLC
LLC
VA
York
Yorktown
Dominion
375
Power Station
Generation
WA
Lewis
Centralia
TransAita
1459.8
WI
Buffalo
Alma
Dairyland Power
181
Cooperative
WI
Ashland
Bay Front
Northern States
27.2
Power (Xcel
Energy)
WI
Boone
Columbia
City of Columbia
1023
WI
Sheboygan
Edgewater
Wisconsin Power&
770
Light Company
WI
Milwaukee
Elm Road
Wisconsin Electric
1316.3
Generating
Power Company
Station
WI
Vernon
Genoa
Dairyland Power
345.6
Cooperative
WI
Buffalo
J P Madgett
Dairyland Power
387
Cooperative
WI
Grant
Nelson Dewey
Wisconsin Power&
200
Light Company
7X0127255
12(1/2014
None
None
Lake Michigan
7X0006394
7/1,/2014
Selenium
Selenium
Ash
TX0063215
2/1/2016
Selenium
Selenium
Ash
UT0000120
None
None
None
UT0000094
2/29/2012
None
None
- Wisconsin
UTR000446
12/31/2012
None
None
UT0023604
11/30/2012
None
None
VA0083402
9/25/2010
None
None
Scr
VA0087645
12/7/2014
zero discharge
zero discharge
of coal ash
of coal ash
VA0004138
7/31/2015
None
- None
Ash
VA0004081
3/19/2017
Arsenic
None
Ash
VA0004146
12/9/2009
None
None
Ash
VAOOOID15
9/14/2015
None
None
Ash
VAG083097
1/12/2016
None
None
Ash
Scru
VA0073300
9/30/2017
None
None
VA0074781
9/3/2014
None
None
VA0000370
7/10/2014
None
None
- VA0082783
7/10/2010
None
None
VA0084069
12/20/2016
None
None
VA0082767
2/22/2016
None
None
VA0085499
5/23/2031
None
None
VA0004103
11/13/2017
Arsenic
None
Ash
WARW1818
12/31/2014
None
None
W10040223
12,/31/2010
Mercury
None
W10002887
12/31/2007
Mercury
None
W10002780
9/30/2011
Mercury
None.
Ash
WIO301589
9/30/2008
Arsenic,
None
Mercury
W10000914
3/29/2010
Mercury
None
W40003239
6/30/2013
Mercury
Mercury
W10040223
12/31/2010
Mercury
None
Ash
W10002381
12/31/2015
None
None
Ash
Huntington Satinity/Total Dissolved
Creek -2 Solids /Chlorides
ubber Roanoke Mercury (Fish
(Staunton) Consumption Advisory)
River
James River
Elizabeth River
Almond Creek Ph
& Roanoke
bber (Staunton)
River
Mercury (Fish
Consumption Advisory)
Unsegmented Fish Consumption
estuaries in Advisory
Hampton Roads
Harbor
New River
York River
Mississippi River Mercury; Mercury (FCA)
- Chippewa
River to Lock
and Dam 6
Lake Michigan
Mercury (Fish
Consumption Advisory)
Lake Michigan
Mercury (FCA)
Mississippi River
Mercury (Fish
- Root River
Consumption Advisory)
to Wisconsin
River
Mississippi River
Mercury (FCA)
- Chippewa
River to Lock
and Dam 6
Mississippi Raver
Mercury (Fish
- Wisconsin
Consumption Advisory)
River to Lock
and Dam li
Closing the Floodgates 43
WI
Kenosha
Pleasant
Wisconsin Electric
1233
W10043583
6/30/2009
Arsenic,
Mercury
Prairie
Power Company
Lake Michigan
Mercury (FCA)
Ash
Mercury
WI
Brown
Pulliam
Wisconsin Public
350.2
W10000965
6/30/2011
Mercury
None
Dam
Service Corporation
WI
Milwaukee
South Oak
Wisconsin Electric
1191.6
W10000914
3/29/2010
Mercury
None
Creek
Power Company
WI
Milwaukee
Valley
Wisconsin Electric
272
W10000931
12/31/1991
Mercury
Mercury
(WEPCO)
Power Company
WI
Marathon
Weston
Wisconsin Public
108.7.1
W10042765
3/31/2015
Mercury
Mercury
Service Corporation
WV
Monongalia
Fort Martin
Monongahela
1152
WV0004731
6/30/2014
Arsenic,
None
Power Station
Power Company
Mercury, Lead,
Selenium
Will
Marion
Grant Town
Edison Mission
95.7
WV0079235
1/29/2014
Arsenic,
None
Power Plant
Operation&
Mercury,
Maintenance
Selenium
WV
Harrison
Harrison
Allegheny Energy
2052
WV0005339
6/30/2015
Arsenic,
None
Power Station
Mercury, Lead,
Selenium
WV
Putnam
John F Amos
Appalachian Power
2932.6
WV0001074
6/6/2012
Arsenic,
Arsenic,
Company
_
Mercury, Lead
Selenium
Selenium
WV
Marshall
- Kammer
Ohio Power
712.5
WV0005291
613012015
None
None
Company
WV
Kanawha
Kanawha
Appalachian Power
434.2
WVW01066
11/17/2010
None
None
River
Company
Will
Monongalia
Longview
Longview Power,
807.5
WV0116238
12/29/2016
None
None
Power
LLC
WV
Marshall
Mitchell
Ohio Power
1632.6
WV0005304
6/30/2015
Arsenic,
Selenium
Company
Cadmium.
Selenium,
Boron
WV
Monongalia
Morgantown
Morgantown
68.9
WV0078425
5/28/2014
Arsenic,
Arsenic,
Energy
Energy Associates
Mercury,
selenium
Facility
Selenium
WV
Grant
Mount Storm
Dominion
1662.4
WVOM5525
4/13/2013
Mercury,
None
Power Station
Generation
Selenium
WV
Mason
Mountaineer
Appalachian Power
1300
WV0048500
6/30/2013
Arsenic,
Arsenic
Company
Mercury
WV
Grant
North Branch
Dominion
80
WV0115321
5/23/2017
Arsenic.
None
Power Station
Generation
Selenium
WV
Mason
Phil Sporn
Appalachian Power
1105.5
WV0001058
6/30/2013
Arsenic,
Arsenic,
Company
Mercury,
Selenium
Selenium
WV
Pleasants
Pleasants
Allegheny Energy
1368
WV0023248
12/13/2012
Arsenic,
Selenium
Power Station
Mercury,
Selenium
WY
Converse
Dave Johnston
Pacificorp Energy
816.7
WY0003115
11/30/2014
Cadmium,
Selenium
Generation
Lead, Mercury,
Selenium
WY
Sweetwater
Jim Bridger
Pacificorp Energy
2317.7
WYG65OC15
10/19/2012
None
None
Generation
WY
Lincoln
Naughton
Pacificorp Energy
707.2
WYD020311
7/31/2013
Selenium
None
-
Generation
WY
Campbell
Wyodak
Pacificorp Energy
362
WY0002384
9/301
Selenium
None
Generation
Ash -&
Lake Michigan
Mercury (Fish
Scrubber
Consumption Advisory)
Lake Michigan
Mercury (Fish
Consumption Advisory)
Ash
Lake Michigan
Mercury (FCA)
Ash
Ash
Wisconsin River
Mercury (Fish
- Merril Dam to
Consumption Advisory)
Prairie Du Sac
Dam
West Fork River Iron; Zinc
Ash & Kanawha River Mercury
Scrubber (Lower)
Ohio River Iron
(Upper South)
Ash
Ash Fish Creek / Mercury; Iron
Ohio River
(Upper South.)
Ash &
Scrubber
Ash
Ohio River Iron
(Middle North)
Ash &
Scrubber
Ash
Ash &
Scrubber
44
Closing the Floodgates
CO
Adams
Cherokee
Public Service
676.3
000001104
4/30/14
Boron,
Cadmium,
Ash
South Platte
Cadmium
Company of
Cadmium.
Lead,
River
Colorado
Mercury, Lead.
Selenium
Selenium
CO
Pueblo
Comanche
- Public Service
1635.3
C00000612
10,31/13
None
None
-
St. Charles
Selenium
Company of
River
Colorado
CO
Boulder
Valmont
Public Service
191.7
C00001112
10/31/17
Cadmium.
None
Ash
Tributaries to
Selenium
Company of
Boron,
St. Vrain Creek
Colorado
Mercury,
Arsenic
FL
Putnam
Seminole
Seminole Electric
1429.2
FL0036498
8/28/17
Arsenic,
Selenium,
Scrubber
Rice Creek
Cadmium; Iron; Lead;
Cooperative, Inc.
Cadmium,
Lead, Mercury
Nickel; Silver
Lead, Mercury
IA
Woodbury
George Neal
MidAmerican
1046
IA0004203
11/30/16
None
None
Ash
Missouri River
Mercury (Fish
North
:Energy Company
Consumption Advisory)
IA
Woodbury
George Neal
MidAmencan
640
IA0061859
3/30/14
None
None
.Ash
Missouri River
Mercury (Fish
South
Energy Company
Consumption Advisory)
1L
Sangamon
Dallman
City of Springfield,
667.7
IL0024767
12/31/06
Boron
Boron
Ash .&
Illinois River
Mercury; Silver, Nitorgen;
IL
Scrubber
Phosphorus; Total
Suspended Solids; Fish
Consumption Advisory
IL
Fulton
Duck Creek
Ameren Energy
441
IL0055620
2/28/13
Boron,
Boron
Ash
Illinois River
Silver, Boron, Iron,
Resources
Mercury
Mercury
Generating
Company
IL
Mason
Havana
Dynegy Midwest
488
IL00D1571.
9/30/17
Mercury
None
Ash &
Illinois River
Mercury; Silver; Wenger;
Generation Inc.
Scrubber
Phosphorus; Total
Suspended Solids; Fish
Consumption Advisory
IL
Putnam
Hennepin
Dynegy Midwest
306.3
IL0001554
4/30/16
Mercury
None
Ash
Illinois River
Mercury (Fish
Power Station
Generation Inc.
-
Consumption Advisory)
iL
Will
Joliet 29
Midwest Generation
1320
IL0064254
11/30/00
None
None
Ash
Des Plaines
Mercury (Fish
EME, LLC
River
Consumption Advisory)
IL
Washington
Prairie State
Prairie State
245
IL0076996
11/30/10
Arsenic.,
None
Ash
Illinois River
Mercury
Generating
Generating
Cadmium,
Company
Company
Mercury, Lead,
Selenium
IN
Posey
A B Brown
Southern Indiana
530.4
IND052191
9/30/16
Arsenic,
None
Ash
Ohio River -
Mercury (fish tissue)
Generating
Gas and Electric
Boron,
Evansville to
Station
Company
Cadmium,
Uniontown
Mercury,
Selenium
IN
Warrick
Alcoa
Alcoa .Allowance
777.6
IN0035051
3/31/91
None
None
Ash &
Ohio River -
Mercury (fish tissue)
Allowance
Management, Inc;
Scrubber
Cannelton to
Management
Newburgh
Inc
IN
Porter
Bailly
Northern Indiana
603.5
IND000132
7/31117
Arsenic,
None
Ash
Lake Michigan
Mercury
Generating
Public Service
Boron,
Shoreline -
Station
Company
Cadmium,
Dunes
Mercury, Lead,
Selenium
IN
Vermillion
Cayuga
Duke Energy
1062
IN0002763
7/31/12
Arsenic,
Mercury
Ash
Wabash River
Mercury (fish tissue)
Corporation
Cadmium,
Selenium,
Mercury
IN
Pike
Frank E �Ratts
Hoosier Energy
233.2
IN0004391
9/30/17
Arsenic,
None
Ash
White River
Mercury (fish tissue)
REC, Inc.
Mercury,
Selenium
IN
Morgan
IPL - Eagle
Indianapolis Power
301.6
IN0004693
9/30/17
Arsenic,
None
Ash
White River
Mercury (fish tissue)
Valley
& Light Company
Cadmium,
Generating
Lead, Mercury,
Station
Selenium,
Boron
IN
Marion
IPL - Harding
Indianapolis Power
698
IN0004685
9/30/17
Arsenic,
Cadmium,
Ash .&
White River
Mercury (fish tissue)
Street Station
& Light Company
Boron,
Lead, Mercury
Scrubber
(EW Stout)
Cadmium,
(effective Aug.
Mercury, Lead.,
28, 2015)
Selenium
IN
Pike
IPL -
Indianapolis Power
2146.7
IN0002887
9/30/17
Arsenic,
Boron,
Ash&
White River
Mercury (fish tissue)
Petersburg
& Light Company
Boron,
Cadmium,
Scrubber
Generating
Cadmium,
Lead, Mercury.
-
Station
Mercury, Lead,
Selenium
Selenium
(effective
Sept. 28,
2015)
IN
LaPorte
Michigan City
Northern Indiana
540
IN0000116
2/29/16
Cadmium,
None
Ash
Lake Michigan
Mercury (Fish
Generating
Public Service
Mercury, Lead
Shoreline
Consumption Advisory)
Station
Company
Dunes
IN
Spencer
Rockport
Indiana Michigan
2600
IN0051845
11/30/15
Boron,
Lead,
Ash &
Ohio River -
Mercury (fish tissue)
Power Company
Mercury, Lead,
Selenium
Scrubber
Cannelton to
Selenium
Newburgh
IN
Dearborn
Tanners:
Indiana Michigan
1100.1
IN0002160
5/31/15
Arsenic,
None
Ash
Ohio River
Mercury in fish tissue
Creek
Power Company
Cadmium,
and Tanners
Mercury
Creek
IN
Vigo
Wabash
Duke Energy
- 860.2
IN0063134
10/31/13
Arsenic,
None
Ash
Wabash River
Mercury<Fish
River Gen
Corporation
Mercury
- Wabash Gen
Consumption
Station
Sta to Lost
Advisory)
Creek
Closing
the Floodgates
45
KS
Shawnee
Tecumseh
Wester Energy,
232
KS0079731
7/31/17
None
None
Ash
Kansas River
Lead
Energy
Inc.
Center
KY
Hancock
Coleman
Big Rivers
602
KY0001937
2/28/05
None
None
Ash
Ohio River
Mercury in fish tissue
Electric
Corporation
KY
Mercer
E W Brown
LGE and KU
757.1
KYOW2020
2/28/15
None
None
Ash
Herrington Lake
Methylmercury
Energy LLC
(Fish Consumption
Advisory); Ph, Total
Suspended Solids
KY
Daviess
Elmer Smith
Owensboro
445.3
KY0001295
3/31/05
None
None
Ash &
Ohio River
Mercury (Fish
Municipal
Scrubber
(Cannelton to
Consumption
Utilities
Newburgh)
Advisory)
KY
Pulaski
John S.
East Kentucky
344
KY0003611
10/31/13
None
None
Ash &
Lake
Methylmercury
Cooper
Power
Scrubber
Cumberland
Cooperative
KY
Woodford
Tyrone
Kentucky Utilities
75
KY0001899
1/31/07
None
None
Ash
Kentucky River.
Methylmercury
Company
53.2 to 66.95
(Fish Consumption
Advisory)
KY
Clark
William C.
East Kentucky
216
KY0002194
11/30/06
None
None
Ash
Kentucky' River,
Methylmercury
Dale
Power
121.1 to 138:5
(Fish Consumption
Cooperative
Advisory)
MA
Hampden
Mount Tom
FirstLight.Power
136
MA0005339
9/17/97
None
None
Ash
Connecticut
Mercury (Fish
Resources
River
Consumption
Advisory)
MD
Allegany
AES Warrior
AES Corporation
229
MD0066079
12/31/17
None
None
Lower North
Cadmium, Nickel; Ph;
Run
Branch Potomac
Phosphorus
River
MI
Muskegon
B C Cobb
Consumers
312.6
M10001520
10/1/13
Mercury
None
Ash
Rivers/
Mercury (Fish
Energy Company
Streams in HUC
Consumption
040601021004
Advisory)
MI
Ingham
Eckert
Lansing Board of
375
M10004464
10/1/12
Mercury
None
Rivers/
Mercury (Fish
Station
Water and Light
Streams in HUC
Consumption
040500040703
Advisory)
MI
Eaton
Erickson
Lansing Board of
154.7
MI0005428
10/1/12
Selenium
None
Rivers/
Mercury (Fish
Water and Light
Streams in HUC
Consumption
040500040704
Advisory)
MI
Ottawa
J B Sims
Grand Haven
80
M10000728
10/1/15
Mercury,
None
Ash &
Grand River
Mercury, Mercury in
Board of Light
Selenium
Scrubber
fish tissue
and Power
MI
Monroe
Monroe
Detroit Edison
3279.6
M10001848
10/1/14
Mercury
Mercury
Ash &
Rivers/
Mercury (Fish
Company
Scrubber
Streams in HUC
Consumption
041000020410
Advisory)
MI
Wayne
River Rouge
Detroit Edison
650 -6
M10001724
10/1/12
Boron,
None
Ash
Rivers/
Mercury (Fish
Company
Mercury,
Streams in HUC
Consumption
Selenium
040900040407
Advisory)
MT
Yellowstone
J E Corette
P P & L Montana,
172.8
MT0000396
3/1/05
None
- None
.Ash
Yellowstone
Arsenic; Nutrients
LLC
River
MT
Richland
Lewis &
Montana
50
MT0000302
11/30/05
None
None
Ash
Yellowstone
Chromium, Copper,
Clark
Dakota Utilities
River
Lead
Company
NY
Orange
Dynegy
' Dynegy Power
386.5
NY0006262
5/31/11
Arsenic,
Arsenic,
Ash
Hudson River
Cadmium; PCBS
Danskammer
Corporation
Cadmium,
Cadmium,
Mercury,
Mercury,
Lead,
Lead,
Selenium
Selenium
ON
Lucas
Bay Shore
FirstEnergy
498.8
OH0002925
7/31/15
Arsenic,
Mercury
Ash
lake Erie
Arsenic, Total
Generation
Boron.
Tributaries (East
Suspended Solids: Oil
Corporation
Cadmium,
of Maumee
& Grease
Mercury,
River to West of
Lead.
Toussant River)
Selenium
ON
Gallia
Gen J M
Ohio Power
2600
OH0028762
7/31/13
Boron,
Mercury
Ash &
Ohio River
Arsenic; Boron:
Gavin
Company
Cadmium,
Scrubber
Tributaries
Cadmium: Chromium;
Mercury,
(Downstream
Cobalt; Copper; Iron;
Selenium
Leading Creek
Lead; Mercury; Zinc;
-
to Upstream
Ph; Nickel
Kanawha River)
ON
Gallia
Kyger Creek
Ohio Valley
1086.5
OH0005282
7/31/13
Arsenic,
Mercury
Ash &
Ohio River
Arsenic; Boron;
Electric
Boron,
Scrubber
Tributaries
Cadmium Chromium:
Corporation
Cadmium,
(Downstream
Copper; Iron; Lead;
Mercury,
Leading Creek
Manganese; Mercury,
Lead,
to Upstream
Molybdeum; Nickel;
Selenium
Kanawha River)
Selenium;. Silver;
Zinc; Ph
OK
Choctaw
Hugo
Western
446
OK0035327
5/31/13
None
None
Ash
Washita River
Lead: Turbidity
Farmers Electric
Cooperative, Inc.
PA
Allegheny
Cheswick
GenOn Power
637
PA0001627
8/31/12
Arsenic.
Cadmium,
Ash &
Little Deer Creek
Aluminum: Arsenic;
Midwest, LP
Boron,
Mercury,
Scrubber
Cadmium; Chronium;
Cadmium.
Lead,
Copper; Lead; Iron;
Mercury,
Selenium
Manganese: Mercury;
Lead,
Molybdeum; Selenium;
Selenium
Silver; Thallium; Zinc
PA
Cambria
Colver Power
A/C Power
118
PA0204269
9/19/00
None
.None
Elk Creek
Arsenic; Cadmium;
Project
- Colver
Chronium; Copper,
Operations
Iron; Mercury; Zinc;
Lead
46 Closing the Floodgates
PA
Schuylkill
Gilberton
Broad Mountain
88.4
PA0061697
9/7/T4
None
None
Mill Creek
Arsenic; Cadmium;
Power
Partners
Chromium; Copper;
Company
Iron; Lead; Mercury;
Zinc
PA
Venango
Scrubgrass
Scrubgrass
94.7
PA0103713
12/31/17
None
None
Allegheny River
Mercury
Generating
Generating
Plant
Company
PA
Indiana
Seward
GenOn
585
PA0002054
7/18/15
Arsenic,
None
Conemaugh
Aluminum; Arsenic;
Wholesale
Mercury,
River
Cadmium; Chromium,
Generation. LP
Lead
Cobalt; Copper; Iron;
Manganese; Mercury,
Nickel; Zinc; Ph
PA
Clearfield
Shawville
GenOn REMA,
626
PA0010031
8/31/15
None
None
West Branch
Alumium; Arsenic;
LLC
Susquehanna
Cadmium; Chromium;
River
Copper; Iron; Lead;
Manganese; Mercury;
Nickel; Zinc
PA
Schuylkill
Wheelabrator
Wheelabrator
48
PA0061263
9/30/16
None
None
Mill. Creek
Arsenic; Cadmium;
- Frackville
Frackville Energy
Chronium; Copper;
Company, Inc.
Iron; Lead; Mercury;
Zinc
PA
Schuylkill
WPS
Olympus Power,
36
PA0061344
4/30/17
None
None
Lower Rausch
Arsenic; Cadmium;
Westwood
LLC
-
Creek
Chromium; Copper
Generation,
Iron: Lead; Mercury
LLC
Zinc
TN
Shelby
Allen
Tennessee Valley
990
TNO005355
8/3/10
None
None
Ash
McKellar Lake
Mercury; Nickel; Ph,
Authority
Total Suspended
Solids
TN
Hawkins
John Sevier
Tennessee Valley
800
TN0005436
6/30/14
Arsenic,
Arsenic,
Ash
Cherokee
Mercury
Authority
Cadmium,
Selenium
Reservoir
Mercury.
Lead,
Selenium
TN
Roane
Kingston
Tennessee Valley
1700
TN0005452
8/31/08
None
None
Scrubber
Clinch River Arm
Mercury
Authority
of Watts Bar
Reservoir
VA
Campbell
Altavista
Dominion
71.1
VA0083402
9/25/10
None
None
Scrubber
Roanoke
Mercury (Fish
Power
Generation
(Staunton) River
Consumption
Station
-
Advisory)
VA
Halifax
Clover Power
Dominion
848
VAOOS3097
42381
None
None
Ash &
Roanoke
Mercury (Fish
Station
Generation
Scrubber
(Staunton) River
Consumption
Advisory)
WI
Buffalo
Alma
Dairyland Power
181
W10040223
40543
Mercury
None
Mississippi River
Mercury;. Mercury
Cooperative
- Chippewa River
(FCA)
to Lock and
Dam 6
WI
Sheboygan
Edgewater
Wisconsin Power
770
WI0001589
39721
Arsenic,
None
Lake Michigan
Mercury (Fish
& Light Company
Mercury
Consumption
Advisory)
WI
Milwaukee
Elm Road
Wisconsin
1316.3
W10000914
40266
Mercury
None
Lake Michigan
Mercury (FCA)
Generating
Electric Power
Station
Company
WI
Vernon
Genoa
Dairyland Power
345.6
W10003239
41455
Mercury
Mercury
Mississippi River
Mercury (Fish
Cooperative
-Root River to
Consumption
Wisconsin River
Advisory)
WI
Buffalo
J P Madgett
Dairyland Power
387
W10040223
40543
Mercury
None
Ash
Mississippi River
Mercury (FCA)
Cooperative
- Chippewa River
-
to Lock and
Dam 6
WI
Grant
Nelson
Wisconsin Power
200
W10002381
42369
None
None
Ash
Mississippi River
Mercury (Fish
Dewey
& Light Company
- Wisconsin River
Consumption
to Lock and
Advisory)
Dam 11
WI
Kenosha
Pleasant
Wisconsin
1233
W10043583
39994
Arsenic,
Mercury
Ash &
Lake Michigan
Mercury (Fish
Prairie
Electric Power
Mercury
Scrubber
Consumption
Company
_
Advisory)
WI
Brown
Pulliam
Wisconsin
350.2
W10000965
40724
Mercury
None
Lake Michigan
mercury (Fish
Public Service
Consumption
Corporation
Advisory)
WI
Milwaukee
South Oak
Wisconsin
1191.6
W10000914
40266
Mercury
None
Ash
Lake Michigan
Mercury (FCA)
Creek
Electric Power
Company
WI
Marathon
Weston
Wisconsin
1087.1
W10042765
42094
Mercury
Mercury
Ash
Wisconsin River
Mercury (Fish
Public Service
- Merril Dam to
Consumption
Corporation
Prairie Du Sac
Advisory)
Dam
WV
Putnam
John E Amos
Appalachian
2932.6
WV0001074
41066
Arsenic,
Arsenic,
Ash &
- Kanawha River
Mercury
Power Company
Mercury,
Selenium
Scrubber
(Lower)
Lead,
Selenium
WV
Marshall
Mitchell
Ohio Power
1632:6
WV0005304
42185
Arsenic,
Selenium
Ash
Fish Creek/
Mercury; Iron
Company
Cadmium,
Ohio River
Selenium,
(upper South)
Boron
Closing the Floodgates 47
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all
LANDFILLS
ities deemed high priority by
the state — the Sutton, site, the
FROM THE FRONT PAGE
Dan River site, the Riverbend
site and the Asheville Steam
Under Duke Energy's
Electric Plant.
At the time, Hughes
phase -one ,plan, the Brick-
haven Mine site in Chatham
explained that the Riverbend
site had no room to contin-
County will receive 2 million
ue to store coal ash, but after
tons of coal ash from the L.V.
Sutton Steam Plant and anoth-
more room was made at the
Sutton site, it could handle
er 1 million tons of coal ash
the movement and storage of
from -Duke Energy's Riverbend
existing material.
Steam Station in Mount Holly.
"We
"Ultimately, the plan is
initially have said both
to store most of that ash on
(Lee and Chatham county)
site," he said at the meeting.
sites are potential storage sites
"This development would not
for the coal ash from these
plants, but our preference is
change phase one of Duke
and Charah's plan... "
to begin with the Brickhaven
.
Although a majority of the
Mine. The Colon Mine in
Sanford is the alternate
coal ash at the Sutton plant
site,"
Brooks said, adding that Duke
now will remain on site, the
additional coal ash at the
Energy expected the Brick - " Riverbend power plant or its
haven Mine site to be prepared
other coal ash ponds across
for coal ash transfer first.
At aChatham County Board
the state as o definite des -
of Commissioners meeting ear-
_
tination. Id
"(The coal ash at the River
lier this year, Mike Hughes,
-
bend sit) has to be excavated,
N.C. Duke Energy vice presi-
and we're not able to develop
dent of community relations,
a landfill at the site," Brooks
said the company was consid-
said, "so we are determining
ering the possibility of storing
what the final storage option
coal ash onsite at the four facil-
will be. The mine projects are
a potential option when we are
considering closure plans at
our other sites."
In a Duke Energy news
release, John Elnitsky, senior
company vice president, said
officials hope to open the Dan
River site landfill during the
first half of 2017 and the Sut-
ton facility late next year.
The release also stated that
the two onsite landfills would
use "industry- proven contain-
ment and monitoring technolo-
gies" to prevent future environ-
mental problems. Landfills at
each site would feature several
tiers of synthetic and natural
clay barriers to keep the ash
from leaking heavy metals and
other potential pollutants into
the groundwater, the company
said.
"Coal ash will be stored dry
in the landfills with additional
layers of lining installed on top
of the landfill - effectively
containing the ash and separat-
ing it from surrounding soil
and groundwater," Brooks said
in the news release.
This report contains information
reported in The Charlotte Observer.