RICHMOND, Va — Dominion Virginia Power and Prince William County have reached a settlement agreement on releasing treated water from coal ash ponds at the company’s Possum Point Power Station that will further protect aquatic life, human health and recreational activities on Quantico Creek and the Potomac River.
The agreement means that Prince William County will withdraw its appeal of a permit from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). The agreement and DEQ’s permit allow Dominion to safely and in an environmentally sound manner treat, discharge and monitor pond water as part of a plan to permanently close five ash ponds at Possum Point Power Station located in Dumfries.
“After extensive dialogue, we as a Board are comfortable that the dewatering of the ponds will be done in a way that provides an additional level of protection, and that addresses concerns raised by our residents,” said Corey Stewart, Chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors.
Prince William Board of County Supervisor’s found that the health and safety of its citizens, the environment, and aquatic life are fully protected.
Under the agreement, Dominion agrees to go ‘beyond federal and state requirements’ and add enhanced protections in operating state-of-the-art treatment equipment already planned for the project and to provide additional water treatment if monitoring shows elevated levels of certain constituents.
“Dominion will always be committed to keeping Quantico Creek and the Potomac safe for fishing, boating, swimming and all the activities we Virginians love to do. We look forward to moving ahead with this important environmental project,” said Pam Faggert, chief environmental officer for Dominion. “The county has helped us create a plan that reflects Dominion’s and the County’s shared commitment to maintain the quality of these two waterways.”
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued its Coal Combustion Residual Rules in the spring of 2015 calling for the closure of ash ponds across the country in the wake of two major ash spills in recent years in Tennessee and North Carolina. The intent of the rules is to remove the risk of ash spills in the nation’s rivers. The rules encourage power companies to eliminate the risk of further spills by closing their ash ponds by the spring of 2018.
Ash ponds were used across the country to store the ash left over from burning coal to produce electricity. Dominion has increased efforts to close 11 ash ponds at four power stations across the state.
As part of closing the ash ponds at Possum Point, Dominion must first remove water that has accumulated in the ponds. The water removal process involves pumping water from four ponds into a fifth pond that has a clay liner. Under the terms of the stringent wastewater discharge permit issued by DEQ and the State Water Control Board, Dominion must construct a wastewater treatment facility at the Possum Point Power Station.
Under the agreement, the facility will clean the water to levels that are considerably better than those required by Virginia’s environmental laws and will be enforced through the permit issued by DEQ. The treated water will be tested before release to ensure that it is much cleaner than required by the permit.
“We are proud that Dominion has shown that we are committed to protecting the environment,” Faggert said. “We have been in the forefront in reducing power station emissions that cause smog and acid rain. We have made dramatic strides in reducing mercury emissions. We have moved aggressively to reduce carbon emissions tied to global warming and to move our generation fleet to cleaner renewable and natural gas generation.”
