Caption: Bremo Power Station
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Dominion
Virginia Power (NYSE:
D) is closing all its coal
ash ponds in the state to comply
with new state and federal
standards, the utility announced
Friday.
The closures of nine ponds will
occur at four power plants:
Bremo Power Station in
Fluvanna County, Chesapeake
Energy Center in Chesapeake,
Chesterfield Power Station in
Chesterfield County and Possum
Point Power Station in Prince
William County. The company no
longer uses coal as a fuel at
three of those power stations.
Coal ash is what's left after
the fuel is burned to generate
electricity.
Dominion said in a news release
that the closures are in
response to new standards
governing so-called coal
combustion residuals from the
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency and the Virginia
Department of Environmental
Quality.
The EPA rule established late
last year set the first national
standards for coal ash, treating
it more like household garbage
than a hazardous material.
"The EPA rules were just
finalized, and we have been
working on plans based on the
proposed rule in order to be
prepared," Pamela Faggert,
Dominion's chief environmental
officer, said in a statement.
The company is working with the
DEQ as well and other state
agencies to develop closure
plans.
The ponds will be drained and
covered by an impermeable liner,
then topped with 24 inches of
soil, Dominion said. Either
grass or sod will be planted on
top of the soil.
Last year, the sudden collapse
of a drainage pipe at a Duke
Energy (NYSE:
DUK) plant in Eden, North
Carolina, triggered a massive
spill that coated 70 miles of
the Dan River in North Carolina
and Virginia in gray sludge.
Duke, the nation's largest
electricity company, announced
in February that it would admit
guilt on nine misdemeanor counts
and pay $102 million in fines
and restitution over years of
illegal pollution leaking from
coal ash dumps at five North
Carolina power plants, including
the one in Eden.
The DEQ recently announced a
$2.5 million agreement with
Duke.
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