Maryland will keep opposing Dominion's coal ash disposal plan, officials say

Dive Brief:

Maryland environmental regulators say they will continue to oppose Dominion Virginia Power's plan to drain 11 coal ash ponds at four power plants in Virginia, ensuring residents they continue to seek ways to protect the Potomac River, The Washington Post reports.
Dominion this week reached a deal with protestors and Virginia regulators, agreeing to more extensive testing before discharging water into the state's rivers. But Ben Grumbles, Maryland’s secretary of the environment, said the state will continue its review and the search for safer solutions.
The utility is expected to begin draining ponds next month, and has indicated an agreement similar to the one struck in Virginia could be reached to appease Maryland regulators.

Dive Insight:

Environmentalists and regulators in Virginia signed off on a new monitoring plan to enable Dominion's water discharge – the utility agreed to water testing every hour at its Possum Point coal ash storage, and is constructing a filtration system it believes goes beyond what the state is requiring. But that has not been enough for regulators in Maryland, The Washington Post reports.

The utility also struck an agreement for coal ash removal at another site near the James River, more than 50 miles west of Richmond. The Post reports it is similar to the Prince William County agreement

“At this point, we are continuing our review of the contested permit,” Maryland environmental Secretary Grumbles said in a statement. He added that the state is seeking “opportunities with Virginia to ensure wastewater and waste pits at Possum Point are managed for effective, long-term protection of the Potomac.”

While Dominion is not commenting on any negotiations with the state of Maryland, a spokesman told the Post that the deal in Virginia is “a model that others might wish to duplicate.”

The Post also reports that the utility will set aside $50,000 for a water monitor in Price William County, and Corey Stewart, chairman of the Board of County Supervisors, said the county essentially shamed the company.

“We used the bully pulpit. We used public pressure and humiliation to get them to comply,” Stewart told the newspaper. “Now we can assure the public that this dewatering process will be absolutely safe.”

Overall, draining the ponds is expected to cost about $500 million.

Coal ash ponds have been troubling for Dominion. In February, 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.