Ash Pond Newsletter: December 2020

The following is a collection of ash pond news from December 2020—our last newsletter of the year. The intent of the newsletter is to summarize news regarding ash pond closure activities, lawsuits filed against utilities relating to their ash ponds, as well as regulatory changes impacting ash pond operations or closures.

This downloadable, four-page newsletter provides resources and explanations of ash pond news concerning a number of topics, including: 

• A special report published by the International Energy Agency (IEA) provides us with a coal analysis and forecast through 2025, while looking at some of the factors which affected decline and demand of coal ash in the past few years.
• The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) plans to relocate approximately 175 graves from the Gallatin Fossil Plant property in Gallatin, Tennessee next year as part of a proposed coal ash landfill expansion at the Site.
• Dewatering coal ash ponds at Georgia Power Company’s Hammond Power Plant in northwest Georgia is set to begin this month.
• In Chesterfield, Virginia, Dominion Energy is undergoing a state-mandated coal ash excavation project, which has the popular Dutch Gap boat launch on the James River blocked.
• The Hoosier Environmental Council released a report that 14 of Indiana’s 15 coal ash sites have left groundwater unfit for human consumption; Indiana is taking few steps to stop these pollutants from spreading.