Coal Plant On Potomac Violated Environmental Regulations, Inspector Says

toggle caption Alan Lehman/Provided by Potomac Riverkeeper Network

In early September, the nonprofit Potomac Riverkeeper flew a small airplane over the tall smokestacks of the Morgantown Generating Station, rising above the trees along the Potomac River in Charles County.

"We've had concern about this facility for the past couple of years," Riverkeeper Dean Naujoks explains.

During the flight, Naujoks' concern about the coal-fired power plant appeared to be warranted. "It looked very suspicious," he says. Aerial photographs taken that day show a stream running through the power plant's property — the water a dark orange-red hue.

"When you see a stream running orange and red in the water, something's wrong," Naujoks says.

toggle caption Alan Lehman/Provided by Potomac Riverkeeper Network

Photographs also show what appeared to be new piles of coal ash — the toxic waste left over after burning coal for power. Left uncovered or in unlined piles or pits, coal ash can pollute groundwater and nearby waterways with things like arsenic, mercury and selenium.

Potomac Riverkeeper shared the findings with the Maryland Department of Environment (MDE). Two days later, on Sept. 18, the department dispatched an inspector to investigate.

The inspector, Shailaja Polasi, met with three representatives of GenOn Energy, the company that owns the power plant.

"On this date, I showed the pictures provided by the complainant to the above personnel and discussed about the areas of concern," Polasi wrote in an inspection report. "The sky was sunny clear at the time of the inspection."

Polasi found three violations on the site related to coal ash. The facility failed to "minimize the contamination of surface water runoff," to notify Maryland of what it was doing with the coal ash, and to maintain equipment in "good working order," as required by its state permits.

toggle caption Alan Lehman/Provided by Potomac Riverkeeper Network

GenOn did not reply to WAMU's request for comment. But according to the Maryland inspector, employees said the coal ash piles in the photographs were temporary and stemmed from two maintenance projects on the site.

First, there was a blockage in a silo that stores coal ash; to fix it, GenOn emptied the 2,014 tons of coal ash inside, moving it last May to an open landfill onsite while repairs were made until June.

Separately, the company also was making repairs and upgrades to a pond that collects polluted runoff from the plant's coal yard. During the process, the stormwater pond was dredged, and the rummaged solids were placed in a "temporary storage area" near where the coal ash from the silo was being stored.

As for the red stream, an environmental specialist working for GenOn told the inspector, "the standing water in the creek always had red coloration." Perhaps it was due to the soil type, the report says.

But Naujoks says the stream's color looks like other sites he has seen where coal ash is polluting a waterway.

"We believe there's been an ongoing and continued groundwater contamination that's leaching into the stream," he says.

Naujoks worries that if toxic heavy metals are ending up in this stream, they might also be getting into the Potomac River — and possibly into seafood eaten by humans.

"It's more than just a water quality issue. It's also a public health risk," he added.

The inspector didn't conduct water tests during this visit, but the Potomac Riverkeeper is urging the state to do it soon. A spokesperson for the Maryland Department of Environment says no fines have been issued for the violations, at least so far.

"This is an active and ongoing investigation," wrote Jay Apperson in an email. "MDE will conduct additional inspections and will communicate with the appropriate parties as part of its ongoing investigation and to determine any future actions."