Bay Journal: “The effect of coal ash on the environment has been studied and debated for more than seven years now in Virginia. Utilities have spent those years looking for long-term disposal solutions for huge volumes of the industrial waste product, much of it located near major rivers.”
“Frankel and his team studied surface water, sediment, species diversity and fish tissue from Quantico Creek, which runs into the Potomac River next to the Possum Point Power Station in Dumfries. They found elevated concentrations of several trace metals in the sediment and in the muscle tissues of banded killifish, which are food for striped bass, birds and other predators. The researchers also found reduced species diversity in the stretch of Quantico Creek closest to the power station, compared with samples taken at upstream and downstream locations.”
Dominion Energy is bullish on placing its remaining coal ash in a $347 million landfill at Possum Point.
Representatives from one of the largest state utilities outlined a plan for a new landfill next to the power plant on the banks of the Potomac River near Dumfries. The plant, built as a coal-burning plant in 1948, was converted to burn gas in 2003.
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Prince William County Potomac District Supervisor Andrea Bailey will hold a town hall to discuss the coal ash ponds and plans to cap them in a landfill near Dumfries.
The town hall will be held on March 30 at Potomac High School, 3401 Panther Pride Drive in Woodbridge.
Earlier this month, Bailey said the meeting would be used to discuss “the progress we’ve made” in the area, which is known for its lingering coal ash ponds — a toxic slurry left over from when a power station on Possum Point, along the Potomac River near Dumfries, burned coal to generate electricity between 1947 and 2003.
The plant now burns natural gas to generate power.
Dominion Energy owns and operates the plant and plans to build a $347 million double-lined landfill to hold toxic coal ash. Last year, PLN reported county documents showed that the Prince William County Government does not need to review plans for a coal ash landfill at Possum Pont, exempting it from a public facility review other to which similar facilities would be subject.
The landfill will take eight years to construct. Dominion sent a letter to the county on March 7 to request a determination if the new dump would require a review to proceed.
Prince William County Potomac District Supervisor Andrea Bailey said she’ll hold a town hall meeting about Possum Point later this month.
The town hall will be held on March 30, according to Bailey’s chief of staff, Shaunee Caldwell-Lynch. Bailey has yet to announce a meeting location.
Bailey said the meeting would be used to discuss “the progress we’ve made” in the area, which is known for its lingering coal ash ponds — a toxic slurry left over from when a power station on Possum Point, along the Potomac River near Dumfries, burned coal to generate electricity between 1947 and 2003.
The plant now burns natural gas to generate power.
Dominion Energy owns and operates the plant and plans to build a $347 million double-lined landfill to hold toxic coal ash. Last year, PLN reported county documents showed that the Prince William County Government does not need to review plans for a coal ash landfill at Possum Pont, exempting it from a public facility review other to which similar facilities would be subject.
The landfill will take eight years to construct. Dominion sent a letter to the county on March 7 to request a determination if the new dump would require a review to proceed.
We’ll bring you more information about the town hall meeting when it’s available.
