Series: Unregulated Contaminants Found in Drinking Water Supply
- Austin R. Ramsey
- Apr 19, 2019
- 7 min read
Updated: Aug 12
When a chilling discovery thrust the quality of a public utility's drinking water supply into question, it became clear that fair and accurate coverage required more than just one story. I wanted to include these two stories among my writing samples for two reasons, however: Not only do they represent a long series, but they illustrate how that coverage can sometimes become the story, no matter how hard you try to prevent it.
Investigation Uncovers Contaminants in Water, OMU Says It's Safe
April 18, 2019
The discovery of at least one groundwater contaminant near Owensboro's only coal-fired power plant last year played a small role in the City Utility Commission's decision to push up a timeline by which its units would close, officials said Thursday.
According to Owensboro Municipal Utilities General Manager Kevin Frizzell, when it was determined that the trace element molybdenum had been detected at a statistically significant level in the groundwater near Elmer Smith Station's temporary
coal ash disposal site, he and others considered the cost of bringing that site back into compliance with federal regulations. Retrofitting the three coal ash ponds there could have cost OMU upward of $40 million, Frizzell said -- a financial factor among many that led the public utility to schedule the plant for closure next year and at least one year ahead of schedule.
"It did have some impact because we knew to (retrofit the ponds) we would have to spend $30 (million) to $40 million," he said. "It wasn't directly tied into the decision we made, but it was one of many, many financial factors we considered."
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency gives utilities with coal ash contamination levels above the groundwater protection standard until October of next year to retrofit or close them down. OMU is scheduled to stop burning coal at the Elmer Smith Station on June 1, 2020.
Frizzell's comments Thursday came after the Messenger-Inquirer reported that some of the same contaminants found in the groundwater near the coal ash ponds were also present in local drinking water supplies -- at potentially unsafe levels, based on EPA guidelines.
In 2014, molybdenum, a naturally occurring trace mineral that is also found in coal ash, was detected in OMU's drinking water at a level almost four times higher than the EPA's lifetime health advisory. Hexavalent chromium, a toxic chemical compound partially derived from the burning of coal, was also discovered at a level more than 766% higher than the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment's public health goal and nearly double the state and national average.
These contaminants are unregulated, however, and local drinking water is in compliance with all relevant state and federal regulations. The EPA doesn't consider unregulated contaminants when determining whether water is legally safe to drink.
Frizzell criticized the newspaper for failing to report on what he called "a plan for addressing the issue," though he admitted the article was factually correct.
"It is typical for the ash ponds at retired coal-fired plants to be covered and converted into ash landfills," Frizzell read from a statement Thursday at a regularly scheduled utility commission meeting. "However, our plan is to remove all coal ash from the site so that there will be no coal ash remaining at Elmer Smith after it is closed. To the extent that the Elmer Smith ash ponds may be the source of these contaminants, that source will be completely removed. We will continue to monitor the groundwater throughout this process."
That plan, however, was not intended to address any specific contaminants, said Sonya Dixon, OMU's communications and public relations specialist. It was written in 2016 -- two years prior to molybdenum being detected in groundwater near the ash ponds.
"Obviously the decision had been made before the testing for molybdenum," she said. "Certainly, that was a plan that was already in place when the contaminant was detected, but I think it reinforced the fact that we needed to remove all the ash from that site. It confirmed that was the right plan and not capping the site or another means of cleaning it."
According to the plan, total decontamination of the ash ponds and adjacent areas could take up to three years after the last coal ash deposit. But that doesn't end the process. The EPA requires utilities to monitor groundwater contamination around former coal ash disposal sites for up to 30 years.
Although molybdenum is unregulated in drinking water, the EPA strictly regulates it in groundwater near coal ash ponds.
In Frizzell's statement Thursday, he also said the utility recently kicked off a Drinking Water System Master Plan Study, the focus of which is source water. It will evaluate future wellfield expansion, maintenance of existing wells and source water quality and quantity.
Such studies are common and considered best management practices by the EPA.
"The amount of coal ash in there is going to be reduced by one-third when Unit 1 shuts down on June 1," said commission Vice Chairman Tony Cecil. "And then when Unit 2 shuts down. ... It's not going to be like we just fill these things in. They're actually going to be removed."
Officials have not said that they are able to determine that coal ash is the source of contamination in the drinking water. Contamination in the groundwater, however, appears more clear. According to the utility's 2018 groundwater monitoring report, "the source of the observed (statistically significant levels) in the downgradient groundwater monitoring wells is attributable to the ash ponds."
Officials Admit Contaminant a Factor in Plant Closing
April 19, 2019
The discovery of at least one groundwater contaminant near Owensboro's only coal-fired power plant last year played a small role in the City Utility Commission's decision to push up a timeline by which its units would close, officials said Thursday.
According to Owensboro Municipal Utilities General Manager Kevin Frizzell, when it was determined that the trace element molybdenum had been detected at a statistically significant level in the groundwater near Elmer Smith Station's temporary
coal ash disposal site, he and others considered the cost of bringing that site back into compliance with federal regulations. Retrofitting the three coal ash ponds there could have cost OMU upward of $40 million, Frizzell said -- a financial factor among many that led the public utility to schedule the plant for closure next year and at least one year ahead of schedule.
"It did have some impact because we knew to (retrofit the ponds) we would have to spend $30 (million) to $40 million," he said. "It wasn't directly tied into the decision we made, but it was one of many, many financial factors we considered."
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency gives utilities with coal ash contamination levels above the groundwater protection standard until October of next year to retrofit or close them down. OMU is scheduled to stop burning coal at the Elmer Smith Station on June 1, 2020.
Frizzell's comments Thursday came after the Messenger-Inquirer reported that some of the same contaminants found in the groundwater near the coal ash ponds were also present in local drinking water supplies -- at potentially unsafe levels, based on EPA guidelines.
In 2014, molybdenum, a naturally occurring trace mineral that is also found in coal ash, was detected in OMU's drinking water at a level almost four times higher than the EPA's lifetime health advisory. Hexavalent chromium, a toxic chemical compound partially derived from the burning of coal, was also discovered at a level more than 766% higher than the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment's public health goal and nearly double the state and national average.
These contaminants are unregulated, however, and local drinking water is in compliance with all relevant state and federal regulations. The EPA doesn't consider unregulated contaminants when determining whether water is legally safe to drink.
Frizzell criticized the newspaper for failing to report on what he called "a plan for addressing the issue," though he admitted the article was factually correct.
"It is typical for the ash ponds at retired coal-fired plants to be covered and converted into ash landfills," Frizzell read from a statement Thursday at a regularly scheduled utility commission meeting. "However, our plan is to remove all coal ash from the site so that there will be no coal ash remaining at Elmer Smith after it is closed. To the extent that the Elmer Smith ash ponds may be the source of these contaminants, that source will be completely removed. We will continue to monitor the groundwater throughout this process."
That plan, however, was not intended to address any specific contaminants, said Sonya Dixon, OMU's communications and public relations specialist. It was written in 2016 -- two years prior to molybdenum being detected in groundwater near the ash ponds.
"Obviously the decision had been made before the testing for molybdenum," she said. "Certainly, that was a plan that was already in place when the contaminant was detected, but I think it reinforced the fact that we needed to remove all the ash from that site. It confirmed that was the right plan and not capping the site or another means of cleaning it."
According to the plan, total decontamination of the ash ponds and adjacent areas could take up to three years after the last coal ash deposit. But that doesn't end the process. The EPA requires utilities to monitor groundwater contamination around former coal ash disposal sites for up to 30 years.
Although molybdenum is unregulated in drinking water, the EPA strictly regulates it in groundwater near coal ash ponds.
In Frizzell's statement Thursday, he also said the utility recently kicked off a Drinking Water System Master Plan Study, the focus of which is source water. It will evaluate future wellfield expansion, maintenance of existing wells and source water quality and quantity.
Such studies are common and considered best management practices by the EPA.
"The amount of coal ash in there is going to be reduced by one-third when Unit 1 shuts down on June 1," said commission Vice Chairman Tony Cecil. "And then when Unit 2 shuts down. ... It's not going to be like we just fill these things in. They're actually going to be removed."
Officials have not said that they are able to determine that coal ash is the source of contamination in the drinking water. Contamination in the groundwater, however, appears more clear. According to the utility's 2018 groundwater monitoring report, "the source of the observed (statistically significant levels) in the downgradient groundwater monitoring wells is attributable to the ash ponds."