Coal Ash

Unlined coal ash ponds threaten the Catawba River through three primary routes of exposure:  1)  catastrophic release, such as the recent event in Tennessee described below, 2) daily untreated discharges from the coal ash ponds, and 3) seepage of contaminants from coal ash into the groundwater.  According to 2005 U.S. Dept. of Energy numbers, over 200,000 tons of Coal Ash Waste is stored adjoining the Catawba River in Gaston County and 33,500 tons of coal waste is stored adjoining the Catawba River in Catawba County.  The problem of coal ash was recently featured in a report by the CBS news program "60 Minutes" and numerous other publications.  Recent studies indicate that contaminants from the coal ash ponds, are infiltrating the groundwater under the ash ponds in addition to being discharged directly into the reservoirs that are used as a source of drinking water along the Catawba River.  The Catawba Riverkeeper is urging local governments that rely on the Catawba River for water to develop contingency plans in the event of a catastrophic failure of any of the ash ponds, as happened in Tennessee in December 2008.  For more information about coal ash visit our Coal Ash Fact Sheet. For our press release click here.  For a video about coal ash click here. For information about possible recycling/reuse methods for Coal Ash click here.  

"60 Minutes" Report on the Coal Ash Problem

Environmental Contamination from Ash Ponds

The collapse of TVA’s coal ash basin in Kingston, TN on December 22, 2008 is a recent example of the threat posed by ash ponds.  This spill released approximately 2.6 million cubic yards of toxic coal ash over 400 acres and blanketed miles of river habitat. Water quality samples taken five days after this spill showed arsenic levels 300 times the legal drinking water limit immediately at the site and 30 times that limit two miles downstream.

That’s not the end of the recent releases of slurries from coal-fired power plants into America’s waterways though. Just a few days later, on January 9, 2009 another TVA facility spilled 10,000 gallons of gypsum slurry into the Tennessee River in Stevenson, Alabama.

A more insidious risk is environmental contamination caused by toxins in coal ash seeping into surface water and groundwater supplies, as well as the bioaccumulation of toxins in fish. Recent reports show that contaminants from coal ash are migrating into the groundwater around the ash ponds and potentially jeopardizing the water supply of nearby residents that use well water.  Toxic constituents in coal ash may include one or more of the following elements or substances in quantities from trace amounts to several percent: arsenic, beryllium, boron, cadmium, chromium, chromium VI, cobalt, lead, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, selenium, strontium, thallium, and vanadium, along with dioxins and PAH compounds.  A 2007 assessment by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found that at least 23 states already have poisoned surface or groundwater supplies from improper disposal of coal ash, including Texas, Virginia, and the Carolinas.  Unfortunately, recent attempts to clean up the air emissions from coal-fired power plants by installing scrubbers have the unintended consequence of increasing the toxicity of the discharges to the water (see NY Times Article for more information). 

One of the best-documented cases of environmental contamination at Belews Lake, which is north of Greensboro, N.C., and the home of Duke's largest coal-fired powerplant. Studies found that Belews Lake was contaminated with dangerous levels of selenium, which, based on animal studies is believed to harm reproductive health.  Ash from the powerplant was placed in a settling basin, which released selenium-laden effluent to the Lake. Due to the selenium contamination, 16 of the 20 fish species originally present in the reservoir were wiped out, including all the primary sport fish. Although Duke changed its disposal practices in 1986, Dennis Lemly, a U.S. Forest Service research biologist,  found that the contaminant was still present at a moderate risk level in the lake’s sediment and was accumulating to toxic levels in fish eggs.

North Carolina is also home to another proven environmental damage case involving selenium at Caswell and Person counties’ Hyco Lake reservoir, constructed in 1964 as a cooling water source for Carolina Power & Light’s Roxboro Steam Electric Plant, now owned by Raleigh, N.C.-based Progress Energy. The state Department of Health and Human Services issued a fish consumption advisory at Hyco Lake in 1988, which was rescinded in 2001 after the company installed a dry ash handling system.

Ash Ponds on the Catawba-Wateree River

The Catawba River hosts three coal-fired power plants operated by Duke Power: Marshall Steam Station on Lake Norman, Riverbend Steam Station on Mtn. Island Lake and Allen Steam Station on Lake Wylie.  The Wateree River has an additional coal-fired powerplant operated by SCE&G. 

The Riverbend Steam Station, which has two of the EPA top 44 high hazard ash ponds (pictured to the right), is located on Mountain Island Lake, which is the primary source of drinking water for approximately 750,000 people. All of these facilities have wet ash handling systems similar to the ash ponds responsible for the contamination at Hyco Lake and Belews Lake.  While these three facilities help generate a substantial percentage of the electricity for our rapidly- growing region, we must remain cognizant of the direct dangers to our River they entail. These basins are directly adjacent to our River and contaminated water from the ash ponds enter directly into our lakes!  Because ground and surface water are intimately connected, suface water, sediment, fish and groundwater around these facilities should be monitored to ensure that no dangerous contaminants are leaving the site.

Beyond dike failure and seepage of contaminants, large precipitation events pose a significant threat of over-topping.  Currently, the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) requires an independent consultant inspection of ash basin dikes every 5 years. The Ash basins at Marshall and Riverbend Steam Stations were last inspected in November 2004 with Allen’s last inspection occurring in September 2008. All three independent reports suggest that no visible signs of “imminent instability” were present. However, there were no visible signs that the dike in Tennessee was about to fail.

There is currently a pending lawsuit over alleged contamination from the coal ash ponds at the SCE&G facility on the Wateree River.  According to the plaintiff in the lawsuit, a local farmer, streams of a poisonous, potentially cancer-causing substance recently were found draining to the Wateree River from the dike wall for the coal ash pond.  Consultants discovered elevated levels of arsenic seeping from an earthen wall along the power plant's 80-acre coal ash waste pond, just a few miles upstream from Congaree National Park. The wall is supposed to block pollution from moving out of the pond and into the Wateree River, less than 300 feet away.  One of the consultants, J.C. Hare, said leaks he saw last month in the earthen wall created two streams of arsenic-tainted runoff that in places measured several feet wide.  For more information, click here.

With the TVA events reminding us of the potential for environmental destruction, the Catawba Riverkeeper® Foundation keeps a watchful eye on all known “high hazard” areas to our River’s quality. With your help, we will continue to advocate for the Catawba - we’ll keep our eyes on the water and our voices speaking out for its protection!

For more information about coal ash:

Go to the Catawba Riverkeeper Home Page by clicking here

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP PROTECT THE CATAWBA RIVER AND WATEREE RIVER, CLICK HERE.