Disposal in Coal Ash Ponds Increases 9% in 2010
Environmental Integrity Project Analysis
January 5, 2012
Just over three years ago, the embankment of a large impoundment at the TVA’s Kingston plant
in Tennessee gave way, spilling a billion gallons of coal ash sludge onto surrounding property
and into the Clinch River. Yet the most recent data from the U.S. Toxics Release Inventory show
that disposal in these big ponds was higher in 2010 than it has been since 2007, the year before
the TVA spill. Meanwhile, EPA’s proposal to set standards for safe disposal – which included a
plan to close down ash ponds within five years – has gone nowhere.
Federal “right to know” laws include a requirement that power companies report by volume
the toxic chemicals that are contained in the ash and other coal combustion wastes that are
dumped in surface impoundments (or ponds) every year. In 2010, power plants reported using
ponds to dispose of wastes containing 112.8 million pounds of toxic metals or metal
compounds, a category that includes arsenic, chromium, lead, and other pollutants that are
hazardous in small concentrations and difficult to remove from the environment once released.
That reflects a nine percent increase in pond disposal since 2009, and is higher than the total
reported in 2008 (See Table A)1.
The concentration of arsenic or other metals in ash or scrubber sludge can vary, based on the
source of the coal and the effectiveness of air pollution control devices in removing these
contaminants from stack gases. An increase in reported disposal volumes for these metals can
mean either a rise in concentration of toxic metals in coal combustion waste, or an increase in
the volume of waste containing these metals, or both.
Just 20 facilities account for more than half (57 million pounds) of the toxic metals contained in
power plant waste and disposed of in surface impoundments in 2010. Four of these are in
Alabama, three in Georgia, and two in Missouri (see Table B). Ten states accounted for three
quarters of total pond disposal in 2010, including (in rank order): Alabama, Georgia, Illinois,
Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, Indiana, North Dakota, Minnesota, and Michigan (See Table C).
Most of these surface impoundments are unlined, which means that the toxins in the ash are
more likely to seep through the bottom of these ponds and into groundwater or nearby rivers
and creeks. The limited amount of monitoring data shows that this is already happening at
many sites that have used surface impoundments for ash disposal for decades. Disposal in socalled “dry” landfills, especially those that are unlined, can also pose risks. The Maryland
1
Data from three Big Rivers facilities in Kentucky excluded from all years. See footnote in Table A for explanation.
Department of the Environment closed one such facility in Ann Arundel County, Maryland, after
its toxic leachate was found to contaminate nearby drinking water wells. But it can be
especially hard to contain liquid wastes, as the volume and pressure increases over time.
Surface impoundment walls can also erode over time, increasing the risk that the collapse of a
dike may lead to catastrophic consequences. For example, two of the twenty facilities
reporting the highest volume of pond disposal in 2010 have surface impoundments rated as
“high hazard” during either EPA or state review. That means a major dam failure at these
plants (Ghent in Kentucky and Bruce Mansfield in Pennsylvania) would result in “probable” loss
of life, based on categorization by the Federal Emergency Management Administration.
“Significant hazard” ratings were assigned to at least six of the “top twenty” plants in Table B,
which means catastrophic failure would result in major economic loss or environmental
damage: Barry (AL), Gaston (AL), Bowen (GA), Monroe (MI), JM Stuart (OH), and Gallatin (TN).
Some of these facilities have multiple units, and TRI data is not detailed enough to determine
whether disposal is occurring in those units with higher risk ratings.
The fact that that a dam failure would be catastrophic does not mean that such an accident will
happen, and some facilities have taken steps to strengthen dikes in the wake of the TVA spill.
But the October 31, 2011, collapse of an embankment at the Oak Creek plant in Wisconsin,
which tumbled construction equipment down its slopes and coal ash into Lake Michigan, is a
reminder that these safety concerns cannot be taken for granted. That is why TVA, among
other utilities, has announced plans to switch to dry disposal of such waste.
EPA proposed in June of 2010 to require the closure of surface impoundments within five years.
If the Agency manages to issue a final rule before the end of 2012, that ban would take effect at
the end of 2017, a full nine years after the TVA spill. In view of the hazards these ash ponds
present, that seems long enough.
Sources:
All data is based on reports submitted to the USEPA by the power industry, which is compiled
on the Agency’s website at http://iaspub.epa.gov/triexplorer/tri_release.facility. Data may be
sorted by facility or state for “metals and metal compounds.” For information about hazard
rankings, see, “Summary Table for Impoundment Reports,” (XLS), USEPA (October 12, 2011),
available online at:
http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/industrial/special/fossil/surveys2/index.htm
The risk rating for the Gallatin plant was assessed by TVA, and can be found by opening the link
to, “Tennessee Valley Authority – Hazard Potential,” at:
http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/industrial/special/fossil/surveys/index.htm#T
TABLE A
Trends in Total Land Disposal from Electric Utilities 2008-2010
Metals and Metal Compounds
Parameter
2008
2009
2010
Landfills
Surface
Impoundments
239,964,348 215,776,057 244,016,735
Total
349,448,021 319,298,310 356,913,978
109,483,673 103,522,253 112,897,243
*United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2010 Toxic Release Inventory
**Data from three Big Rivers facilities in Kentucky excluded for all years. These
facilities reported disposing of more than 67 million pounds of metals in 2009,
indicating a likely error in reporting. Therefore we have excluded these plants
from our analysis.
TABLE B
Discharges of Toxic Metals to Surface Impoundments: Top 20
Facility
County
State
Toxic Metals to Surface
Impoundments (lbs)
MILLER STEAM PLANT
JEFFERSON
AL
SCHERER STEAM ELECTRIC GENERATING
PLANT
MONROE
GA
DETROIT EDISON MONROE POWER PLANT
MONROE
MI
BOWEN STEAM ELECTRIC GENERATING
PLANT
BARTOW
GA
BIG CAJUN 2
POINTE COUPEE
LA
XCEL ENERGY SHERBURNE COUNTY
GENERATING PLANT
SHERBURNE
MN
COAL CREEK STATION
MCLEAN
ND
KENTUCKY UTILITIES CO GHENT STATION
CARROLL
KY
AMEREN MISSOURI LABADIE ENERGY
CENTER
FRANKLIN
MO
DYNEGY MIDWEST GENERATION INC
BALDWIN ENERGY COMPLEX
RANDOLPH
IL
JM STUART STATION
ADAMS
OH
TRANSALTA CENTRALIA GENERATION /
MINING
LEWIS
WA
US TVA GALLATIN FOSSIL PLANT
SUMNER
TN
GASTON STEAM PLANT
SHELBY
AL
GORGAS STEAM PLANT
WALKER
AL
WANSLEY STEAM ELECTRIC GENERATING
PLANT
HEARD
GA
GIBSON GENERATING STATION
GIBSON
IN
ASSOCIATED ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE INC
NEW MADRID POWER PLANT
NEW MADRID
MO
BRUCE MANSFIELD POWER PLANT
BEAVER
PA
BARRY STEAM PLANT
MOBILE
AL
*United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2010 Toxic Release Inventory
5,205,430.90
5,002,506.80
4,093,461.01
4,016,417.20
3,236,897.00
3,044,913.10
2,958,061.30
2,646,451.90
2,559,562.50
2,461,016.00
2,444,326.10
2,432,827.40
2,322,065.00
2,300,046.40
2,224,502.50
2,184,803.50
2,153,538.80
2,118,000.00
1,979,263.00
1,906,342.20
TABLE C
Discharges of Toxic Metals to Surface Impoundments: Top 10
Toxic Metals to Surface Impoundments (lbs)
State
Alabama
14,721,823.10
Georgia
13,842,179.40
Illinois
10,415,293.92
Kentucky
8,416,152.40
Missouri
7,764,312.84
Ohio
6,771,009.30
Indiana
5,947,077.65
North Dakota
5,559,315.13
Minnesota
4,903,986.87
Michigan
4,806,083.39
*United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2010 Toxic Release
Inventory
**Three Big Rivers facilities excluded from total discharges for Kentucky. See
footnote in Table A for explanation.