Environmental groups find 39 more sites contaminated by coal ash

A new report from three environmental groups documents 39 additional coal-ash dump sites in 21 states are contaminating drinking or surface water with arsenic and other heavy metals. Experts from the Environmental Integrity Project, Earthjustice and the Sierra Club found "at every one of the coal-ash dump sites equipped with groundwater monitoring wells, concentrations of heavy metals such as arsenic or lead exceeded federal health-based standards for drinking water," Ken Ward Jr. of The Charleston Gazette reports on his Coal Tattoo blog.

Concentrations at the Hatfield’s Ferry site in Pennsylvania were as high as 341 times the federal standard for arsenic, Ward writes. "There is no greater reason for coal ash regulation than preventing the poisoning of our water," Lisa Evans, senior administrative counsel for Earthjustice, said in a news release. "We now have 39 more good reasons for a national coal ash rule. The mounting number of contaminated sites demonstrates that the states are unable or unwilling to solve this problem."

The report also found "the total number of sites polluted by coal ash or sludge is now at least 137 in 34 states," Ward writes. "These sites account for 29 percent of the 467 plants that dispose of coal ash onsite or offsite." At least 18 of the 39 newly identified contaminated sites are located within five miles of a public groundwater well. "It is clear from this report that the closer we look the worse this problem becomes," Lyndsay Moseley, federal policy representative for the Sierra Club, said. "The only real solution is for the EPA to adopt federally enforceable protections as part of its push to improve public health. We’re talking about people’s lives here." (Read more)