N.C. Coal Ash Ponds Contaminating Groundwater, Analysis Shows
An independent analysis of water testing data has revealed that thirteen North Carolina coal ash ponds are leaking toxic pollutants into groundwater.
The analysis of groundwater contamination data was conducted by Appalachian Voices' Upper Watauga Riverkeeper team, who reviewed test results on coal ash ponds located next to the state's coal-fired power plants. The test results were submitted to the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR) by the state's two power utilities, Duke and Progress.
According to Upper Watauga Riverkeeper Donna Lisenby's review of the data, all thirteen of the tested coal ash ponds were found to be leaking toxic heavy metals and other pollutants into nearby groundwater, including but not limited to: arsenic, boron, cadmium, chloride, chromium, iron, lead, manganese, pH and sulfate. In all, the analysis found 681 instances where levels of pollutants were in excess, ranging from 1.1 to 380 times higher than North Carolina's groundwater standard.
"The results of this data are very alarming, and we now know that some of these ponds have been leaking into the groundwater for years," said Lisenby. "We intend to call for further oversight and clean up of coal ash pond waste to prevent additional heavy metals and other toxins from being released into our groundwater and rivers."
The heavy metals associated with coal ash can pose serious potential danger to human and environmental health. According to a 2007 EPA Risk Assessment, residents with wells who live in close proximity to coal ash ponds have as much as a 1 in 50 chance of getting cancer from drinking water contaminated by arsenic, one of the most common, and most dangerous, pollutants in coal ash. The risk assessment goes on to say that living near ash ponds increases the risk of damage to the liver, kidney, lungs and other organs as a result of being exposed to toxic metals like cadmium and lead. Wildlife and ecosystems are also threatened by coal ash contaminants like boron, which at North Carolina ash ponds can be found at levels ranging from 1.4 to 16 times the threshold considered safe.
North Carolina utilities generate millions of pounds of toxic coal ash waste each year as a byproduct of coal combustion. After coal is burned in a power plant, the leftover ash is stored in large retaining ponds scattered across the state and ranging in size from 26 to 512 acres. The power plants, which are typically located on rivers, routinely discharge water from the coal ash ponds directly into the waterways. There are at least fourteen coal ash ponds in North Carolina; three of the waste ponds in the analysis border the Catawba River Basin, a watershed which provides drinking water to nearly 1 million residents in the Charlotte region.
"Because coal ash is minimally regulated in North Carolina, the exact impacts to downstream communities is unknown, and further testing is needed," said Lisenby.
Duke and Progress conducted the tests as part of an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to self-monitor coal waste ash ponds. The frequency and distribution of sampling was determined by the power companies themselves and not specifically required by any federal or state regulation. Because testing has been voluntary, the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources is still trying to confirm the results before they determine whether corrective action can be required under current state law. To determine whether the heavy metals and other pollutants leaking from the coal ash ponds have reached nearby surface water supplies, additional testing will be necessary.
The news follows the EPA's announcement last June of the 44 most high-hazard coal ash impoundments in the nation, 12 of which were located in North Carolina alone and a report on Monday by 60 Minutes on the toxicity of coal ash. Last December, a massive coal ash spill took place in Harriman, Tn., when a retaining pond at the Kingston Fossil Plant gave way, releasing 1 billion gallons of toxic wet ash into the nearby Clich and Emory Rivers and bringing attention to environmentalists' long-standing concerns about the dangers coal ash waste.
SOURCE: Appalachian Voices