Federal Survey Finds Coal Ash Spills in 34 States

This entry was posted by Josh Wednesday, 9 September, 2009

Talking Points Memo:

The toxic leftovers from burning coal for power are sitting in nearly 600 sites in 35 states, according to a federal survey released Tuesday.Spills have occurred at 34 of those sites over the last decade.

Many of the spills were minor compared with the disaster that occurred at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s power plant in Kingston, Tenn., in December. That spill, which flooded hundreds of acres of land, damaged homes and killed fish in nearby rivers, is not included in the data, although it triggered the EPA’s March request of 61 power companies for information on how they manage coal combustion waste.

The survey is the most comprehensive list to date of coal ash storage sites and includes information submitted by 219 facilities.

Here is a summary of responses to the survey:


survey2

Full responses From Electric Utilities to the EPA information request letter can be found here.