Dive Brief:
- Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh said yesterday the state has filed a legal challenge to a decision in Virginia last month which allows Dominion to drain treated water from a pair of coal ash ponds into the James River and Quantico Creek.
- Dominion is closing 11 coal ash ponds at four power plants, and the permit issued last month by the Virginia State Water Control Board is the first of several it must seek.
- But Frosh said that any plan which could impact the region' waterways must undergo "heightened scrutiny and rigorous analysis."
- Maryland's appeal will go before the Circuit Court for the City of Richmond; the state could push for additional closure options or alternatives to draining the ponds.
Dive Insight:
Dominion Virginia Power assured regulators last month that it would construct temporary water treatment facilities prior draining coal ash ponds, to ensure the water returned to the rivers is clean. That led the Water Control Board to approve the permit 6-1, but it was not enough to satisfy Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R).
According to The Washington Post, Hogan's office informed Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) this week, that the state would be challenging the permit in court.
"Being good stewards of the Potomac watershed means taking extreme caution so that that untreated or improperly treated coal ash does not foul waterways," AG Frosh said in a statement. "Any plan to dump waste in or near the river needs heightened scrutiny and rigorous analysis, and that is what this legal step is ensuring."
The Maryland Department of the Environment and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources this week sent word of the challenge to Virginia officials in a letter from Maryland Environment Secretary Ben Grumbles. He said Maryland is focused on "metals in the ash, water quality monitoring in the river, where freshwater and saltwater are mixing, and additional measures for the closure of the ash ponds, including the types of protective liners and ground water monitoring wells."
Other opponents are worried about "mixing zones" where the water will not be compliant with state standards. A 2,000 foot section of the James River will be used for mixing.
“Mixing zones create a high hazard area for fish and wildlife,” said Bill Street, CEO of the James River Association. “There are permits in North Carolina with lower limits. We’d ask that you make sure the James River is equally protected rather than relying on dilution to meet standards.”
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources in January sent an eight-page letter to Virginia officials outlining some concerns, including the array of diverse fish species that live or pass through the river basin and the Chesapeake Bay. Maryland Natural Resources Secretary Mark Belton said he is confident that "additional efforts by our two states working together will benefit the river and reduce any risks to the people, fish and wildlife that depend on its health."
Dominion's coal ash ponds have been troubling for the utility. Earlier this month, Dominion confirmed to news outlet InsideNoVa.com that it released 33.7 million gallons of untreated water from a coal ash pond into Quantico Creek. Environmental advocates are now calling for an investigation into whether the utility had authorization to do so.
A U.S. District Court last year rejected the utility's bid to dismiss a Sierra Club lawsuit for alleged violations of the federal Clean Water Act and a state permit. The suit claims that arsenic and other pollutants are migrating from coal ash stored at its shuttered Chesapeake Energy Center into the Elizabeth River.