An end to coal ash
Dominion set to begin removing hazardous waste from Virginia sites
It’s great to hear that Dominion Energy is — at long last — taking the first real steps toward removing toxic coal ash waste from shuttered power plants in Chesapeake and three other Virginia locations. After nearly 10 years of court cases, legislative action, conflict and controversy, it’s way past time to remove the dangers posed by arsenic, lead and other heavy metals in coal ash that have been linked to cancers and other diseases.
Since Dominion closed the Chesapeake plant along the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River in 2014, 3 million tons of coal ash have been stored in ponds and a landfill there. The coal ash, also called fly ash, is a powdery residue of burning coal. When it’s improperly stored, there’s a real danger that the heavy metals in it can contaminate surrounding groundwater, streams and the air. The ash threatens human health, the environment, wildlife and recreation areas. It’s not something you want in your neighborhood.
With global warming making heavy rainstorms and flooding more likely, the chances increase that a coal ash pond will spill or be breached, spreading the toxic waste. Such a disaster happened in 2014 when a burst pipe at a Duke Energy coal ash pond near Eden, North Carolina, spewed tons of coal ash into the Dan River for nearly a week, threatening the safety of drinking water for the city of Danville and other areas downstream in Virginia as well as harming fish and other wildlife.
The news that Dominion, after years of delays, has obtained some of the necessary permits and zoning approval from the city
for the removal is encouraging. There is still much to be done, however. Dominion will need more approvals and permits, and it must come up with a workable plan for where it will take the ash residue and how to move it.
Back in 2019, when Dominion, after years of legal wrangling, produced a working plan for cleaning up the coal ash in
Chesapeake, it said the work should be finished by the end of 2024. Word now is that the actual removal likely won’t even start until 2025 and will take several years to complete.
Chesapeake has the least amount of ash of the sites; the removal at Chesterfield and Bremo along the James River and at Possum Point on the Potomac will take longer.
The battle over what to do with the coal ash in Chesapeake and how to do it has dragged on for years. Dominion originally wanted simply to cover the unlined ponds that held the ash and leave it there. Arguing that the ash was seeping into the groundwater and the Elizabeth River in violation of the Clean Water Act, the Southern Environmental Law Center won a case in federal court.
After Dominion got the decision reversed on appeal, Virginia legislators passed a law in 2019 that required the utility to remove the coal ash at Chesapeake and the other three sites. The law says that Dominion must recycle at least a quarter of the ash, which has several possible uses, including concrete, cement, grout, wallboard and roadbeds. Whatever isn’t recycled must be moved to modern, secure landfills.
Chesapeake is requiring that Dominion move the coal ash by rail or barge, but sealed trucks may transport some.
Yes, it’s good news that Dominion is taking necessary steps toward the goal of removing the ash from Chesapeake and the other sites. Folks in Chesapeake can breathe a sigh of relief that the work there is expected to be finished first.
Dominion has until 2034 to complete the removal work at all four of the sites. Ideally, the cleanup would be complete sooner than that. At the very least, every effort should be made to make sure there are no further delays. Coal ash is hazardous to human health. It’s way past time to contain that toxic ash securely in a way that won’t endanger our communities.