Two-thirds of W.Va. coal-ash dams need repairs

Nearly two-thirds of West Virginia coal-ash dams might need repairs, according to a report from the state Department of Environmental Protection. A quarter of the dams are ranked as being in poor or unsatisfactory condition, Ken Ward Jr. of The Charleston Gazette reports. The DEP also found problems, prompting at least five enforcement activities at landfills where dry waste from coal-fired power plants were dumped.

"DEP inspectors found stability problems, seepage and erosion at some of the dams as part of a roughly 10-month 'comprehensive review' launched after the failure of a coal-ash impoundment in East Tennessee brought new attention to such facilities," Ward writes. Brian Long, coordinator of DEP's dam safety program, told Ward, "We were able to identify stability issues along some embankment slopes, but largely the problems we noted involved control of animals and vegetation."

During the review, DEP also found that American Electric Power had built two ash dams at one site without notifying the agency. Neither dam at the Little Broad Run Landfill was designed to comply with safety standards of West Virginia's Dam Safety Act. DEP told Ward that it's considering adding additional inspections in the future. "We found enough through this exercise to be concerned, and to revisit our policy," DEP Secretary Randy Huffman said. "We probably need to look at these things ourselves a little more frequently." (Read more)