Bill requiring Dominion seek costs to recycle remaining coal ash, postponing pond closure at Possum Point goes to Senate vote on Tuesday

DUMFRIES — Senator Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax, Prince William, Stafford) says his bill is the only piece of legislation addressing coal ash still alive in the General Assembly.

Bill 807 would extend a moratorium on closing the coal ash ponds and would prevent the Department of Environmental Quality from issuing pond closure permits.

This means at Possum Point near Dumfries — Dominion’s favored “cap in place” method of closure where the utility places high-density polyethylene cap over the remaining coal ash pond — would not be possible until at least July 2019.

Surovell’s bill also requires Dominion issue a request for proposals from outside recycling firms that would evaluate the cost of recycling the remaining coal ash in the pond.

Residents said Dominion had warned the costs to remove the ash could be too high, and also warned those who live near the ponds of the potential risk involved if a truck, train, or barge used to remove the toxic ash would be involved in an accident.

The bill requires making the cost estimates available to state officials and the public by Dec. 1, 2018.

His bill also allows Dominion to close any of the five ponds at Possum Point where the toxic ash has already been removed. Dominion has already condensed coal ash and water from five ponds at the site down to one, into a pool named “Pond D.”

Surovell’s bill survives after members of the Senate Commerce, and Labor Committee rolled his measure in with a similar piece of legislation by colleague Sen. Amanda Chase (R-Midlothian).

A similar bill by first-year Delegate Jennifer Carroll Foy (D-Stafford, Woodbridge) was carried over until next year.

The full Senate is expected to vote on the Surovell-Chase bill on Tuesday.

The Possum Point Power Station began generating electricity by burning coal in 1948. Coal ash is the byproduct left over after fuel is burned. It contains toxins like boron, chloride, cobalt, sulfate, nickel, and zinc, and it’s stored in ponds underwater as not to expose it to the environment.

The station was converted in 2003 and now uses natural gas to create electricity.

Ultimately, if cap-in-place is approved at Possum Point, Dominion is required by law to monitor the groundwater in the area for 30 years. The utility says a clay-liner at the bottom of Pond D is strong enough to prevent the toxic water and sludge from seeping out.

Last year, Dominion agreed to pay to connect 35 homeowners who live on Possum Point Road near the coal ash ponds to city water, converting them from using wells, after elevated levels of toxins were found in the drinking water.