The Alabama Department of Environmental Management proposed a $250,000 fine on Alabama Power Company after groundwater tests near the company’s coal ash pond in Gadsden showed high levels of arsenic and radium.

According to the proposed administrative order from ADEM, Alabama Power “caused or allowed the unpermitted discharge of pollutants associated with ash pond wastewater from the Plant Gadsden Ash Pond to waters of the State.”

The proposed $250,000 fine is the largest available to ADEM in a single administrative order.

The violations stem from groundwater test results that the company submitted to ADEM on May 2. The samples were taken from 18 wells around the now-closed coal ash pond on the Coosa River and showed elevated levels of arsenic at two locations and one incidence of elevated radium.

Alabama Power said in a statement that the company proactively reported the test results to ADEM before they were required to by law and that the company “has no indication of any effect on any source of drinking water.”

Alabama Power said the Gadsden Water Works also tests for water quality on the Coosa River and found no indication of problems with drinking water sources.

“Based on evaluations to date, none of the results detected pose a risk to neighbors, nearby waterways or water sources,” Alabama Power’s statement said.

Alabama Power is in the process of closing all of its coal ash ponds in compliance with new federal coal ash rules enacted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2015.

Plant Gadsden was the first of Alabama Power’s ash ponds to close, with work being completed in September 2018. The company said it will conduct additional groundwater testing, in coordination with ADEM, “to determine whether any corrective actions are warranted.”

All the company’s other coal-fired plants are now using dry coal ash storage rather than the wet ash ponds. The company expects to begin dewatering all of its existing ash ponds this year, but the closure process can take multiple years to complete.

In 2018, Alabama Power was fined $1.25 million for groundwater pollution violations near coal ash ponds at six other plants.