Coal ash pervasive: 2 billion pounds of power plant waste gets in ponds, landfills

Dec 14 - The Post and Courier

Arsenic and other toxic chemicals in concentrations hundreds of times higher than you would want in a cup of tap water are showing up under and near several coal ash dumps in the Lowcountry and Midlands, a review of state records reveals.

And contamination problems at some sites might be growing worse, despite millions of dollars spent by utilities to contain the pollution, records and data from a new report by a watchdog group show.

Coal-fired power plants generate massive amounts of ash as they pump out electricity. Some of this ash can be used to strengthen concrete, but most -- more than 2 billion pounds a year -- ends up in ponds or landfills next to the plants. Some of this ash contains toxic chemicals such as arsenic, lead and mercury. When the ash mixes with water, these chemicals can end up polluting waterways and groundwater.

At SCE&G's Canadys plant on the Edisto River, for instance, arsenic has been found in groundwater near the plant's boundary along S.C. Highway 15 at levels higher than 600 parts per billion, a Post and Courier review of DHEC records shows. While that might seem minor, federal drinking water standards say anything above 10 parts per billion isn't safe.

Diagrams depicting the arsenic contamination show a torpedo-shaped plume about 600 feet north of a boat landing on the Edisto. It shows the contamination has spread under S.C. Highway 15, beyond SCE&G's plant boundary. Documents also show South Carolina Electric and Gas is in the midst of a major effort to examine the areas around the ash ponds.

The Canadys plant isn't the only place where ash is causing pollution problems.

On Tuesday, the Environmental Integrity Project, a group that's long been critical of how utilities dump coal ash, released a report that cites contamination problems at 19 ash dumps across the country. The group's review of lab tests found several South Carolina power plants with particularly notable levels of arsenic.

At Santee Cooper's Grainger power plant near Conway, tests showed arsenic levels of 1,620 parts per billion in April 2010 and 2,112 parts per billion a year later.

At SCE&G's Urquhart plant near Aiken, recent tests found arsenic levels of 1,209 parts per billion. SCE&G's Wateree Station in the Midlands had arsenic at levels of 1,100 parts per billion, or 110 times higher than federal drinking water standards.

Other states had coal ash dumps with similar problems.

"This report says the problem is getting worse, and that the states are just sitting there," said Jeff Stant, director of the group's coal ash program.

None of this information is surprising to regulators and utilities who have been wrestling with ash disposal for decades.

Mollie Gore, a spokeswoman for Santee Cooper, said the utility is well-aware of the contamination problems at its Grainger plant and other facilities.

"It's important to note that our tests indicate the problem is isolated, and there are no drinking water sources anywhere near the testing wells," she said.

The utility is working with the Department of Health and Environmental Control to find ways to mitigate the problem.

Robert Yannity, a spokesman for SCE&G, said company officials had not seen the Environmental Integrity Project Report and couldn't comment.

The Environmental Integrity Project's report comes amid a national political battle over how to handle the massive amounts of ash generated every year by coal-fired power plants.

For decades, regulators treated coal ash as if it were akin to construction debris. But as communities across the country developed contamination problems, critics began to call for stricter rules. Then in 2008, an ash pond in Tennessee burst, spilling millions of cubic yards of tainted ash waste into a river near Kingston.

The disaster prompted the Environmental Protection Agency to propose rules for ash disposal, efforts now targeted by Republican lawmakers who in turn introduced legislation that would prevent the EPA from regulating coal ash. The House passed a bill earlier this year; the Senate is considering a similar bill.

Stant said he hopes the report will persuade lawmakers to back off efforts to thwart the EPA's work on coal ash.

In 2008, a Post and Courier report, "Coal's Time Bomb," detailed how ash dumps throughout South Carolina were polluting groundwater, and that because of regulatory loopholes, power companies had a free pass to keep polluting as long as the contamination was kept inside designated boundaries. These boundaries were called "mixing zones," areas where polluted water could mix with fresh water.

At SCE&G Wateree's Station, which is just upriver from Congaree National Park, tests in the 1990s showed arsenic levels well above federal drinking water limits. In 2001, SCE&G and DHEC agreed to create a mixing zone where arsenic wouldn't be allowed to exceed 3,000 parts per billion. In recent years, arsenic levels in a well ranged from 1,743 parts per billion to more than 4,000 parts per billion, or 400 times the drinking water limit. After SCE&G officials learned about the 4,000 reading, they asked their consultant to take another sample. This time, the sample had an arsenic concentration of 242 parts per billion, 24 times higher than the drinking water limit but below the 3,000 parts per billion limit in the company's mixing zone deal.

The Environmental Integrity Project said Wateree's recent readings remain troubling. It cited one test in 2006 that found arsenic levels exceeding 5,000 parts per billion. The group said arsenic was found in five of six wells in recent years, and that tests showed high levels of lead, chromium and cadmium.

"It's pervasive," Stant said. "All you have to do is look, and you'll find a contamination problem."

___

Visit The Post and Courier (Charleston, S.C.) at www.postandcourier.com