Birmingham, Alabama (Platts)--16Jan2009

West Virginia Department of Environmental Regulation Secretary Randy
Huffman has ordered the inspection of the state's 30 coal ash impoundments.

Brian Long, manger of the state's dam safety program, said late Thursday
that the inspections would take about two months to complete. The inspections
include wet and dry impoundments.

West Virginia began developing dam regulations at wet coal refuse
impoundments after a coal slurry impoundment dam broke in 1972, killing 125
people. "Our mission is to prevent another Buffalo Creek disaster," Long said.
The coal ash spill at the Tennessee Valley's Kingston Fossil Plant, which sent
coal ash sludge over 300 acres and into the Emory River, prompted the call for
immediate inspection of the dams, he said.

West Virginia has 16 coal ash impoundments with dams to inspect and 14
dry coal ash landfills. The dam inspections will double-check the stability of
the embankments, Long said. The landfill inspections will check embankments
for stability problems and for the diversion of surface water, Long said.

State law does not require inspectors to inspect the dams at any specific
interval. Long did not dispute reports that many of the dams have not been
inspected in five years and some for as long as 20 years. Owners are required
to have a licensed engineer inspect dams every other year if they are
considered to be high hazards to human life if they rupture. The agency
follows up with an inspection of its own if it sees red flags in the owner's
report, Long said.

Allegheny Power, American Electric Power and Appalachian Power own 11 of
the 16 coal ash impoundments with dams. The utilities also own 11 of the 14
coal ash landfills. Industrial companies own the others.

This is an excerpt. Similar stories appear in Platts Coal Outlook.
See more information at http://coaloutlook.platts.com