EPA Reaches Settlement with Alabama Power Company to Address Compliance with Certain Coal Ash Regulations
Case is part of EPA’s larger initiative to protect communities from coal ash contamination
ATLANTA (October 9, 2024) – On September 26, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a settlement with the Alabama Power Company (“Alabama Power”), to resolve alleged violations of the federal Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) regulations at the James M. Barry Electric Generating Plant (“Plant Barry”) located in Bucks, Mobile County, Alabama. Alabama Power provides energy to Alabama’s electrical grid. This settlement requires Alabama Power to evaluate and expand its groundwater monitoring program at Plant Barry, to review and upgrade its Emergency Action Plan, and to pay a civil penalty of $278,000.
The settlement is part of EPA’s National Enforcement and Compliance Initiative, Protecting Communities from Coal Ash Contamination. This Initiative is needed given the breadth and scope of observed noncompliance with the federal coal ash regulations. Coal ash, which is produced from the burning of coal for energy, is a large industrial waste stream (by volume) and contains certain contaminants known to cause cancer and other serious health effects. Prior to 2015, the management and disposal of coal ash was not regulated at the national level; instead, it was regulated to varying degrees, if at all, by some states. Historically, coal ash was typically disposed in unlined landfills and unlined surface impoundments many of which are in contact with groundwater.
Without proper containment and management, contaminants from coal ash can pollute waterways, groundwater, drinking water and the air. The additional enforcement resources under EPA’s National Enforcement and Compliance Initiative to address this issue will help protect both water sources, including drinking water, as well as the often-overburdened communities who live near these units.
"It is imperative that companies comply with the national coal ash regulations in order to protect communities and the environment, including vital groundwater resources,” said Jeaneanne Gettle, EPA Region 4 Acting Regional Administrator. “This settlement requires Alabama Power to implement a more robust groundwater monitoring program and to revise its Emergency Action Plan, both of which will help protect surrounding communities along the Mobile River from potential coal ash contamination.”
In this settlement, which resolves two of three allegations from the EPA’s January 31, 2023, Notice of Potential Violations (NOPV), EPA alleges that Alabama Power did not fully meet certain requirements under the coal ash program at Plant Barry’s approximately 600-acre coal ash surface impoundment, including:
- Failure to comply with certain groundwater monitoring system requirements; and
- Failure to comply with certain Emergency Action Plan requirements.
Under the settlement, Alabama Power will conduct additional groundwater sampling and analysis, evaluate groundwater flow to determine if additional wells are needed, relocate background wells, and update and implement an improved groundwater monitoring plan for the impoundment (currently undergoing closure activities). Alabama Power will also upgrade its existing Emergency Action Plan to better evaluate weather-related risks and develop specific procedures to respond to extreme weather conditions. This settlement does not resolve the remaining allegation from the NOPV, which is related to the closure of the coal ash surface impoundment. EPA cannot comment further on other potential enforcement matters at Plant Barry.
Read EPA’s Consent Agreement and Final Order for Plant Barry.
In April 2015, EPA established national rules for coal ash management and disposal to address:
- Risks from disposal and discharge of coal ash, including leaking of contaminants into groundwater,
- Blowing of contaminants into the air as dust, and
- Catastrophic failure of coal ash surface impoundments.
These rules established a comprehensive set of requirements for the safe handling and disposal of coal ash from coal-fired power plants, including technical requirements for coal ash landfills and surface impoundments.
For more information on coal ash and the Agency’s coal ash program activities, please visit EPA’s Coal Ash (Coal Combustion Residual) website.
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