Allegheny Faces Possible Water Lawsuit in Alleged Arsenic
Discharges
Charleston Gazette
February 2011
By The Associated Press
ALBRIGHT, W.Va. -- Allegheny Energy must clean up alleged arsenic
releases into the Cheat River watershed from a coal-fired power plant
in Preston County or face a federal lawsuit, three environmental groups
said Monday.
The releases come from coal ash at Allegheny's Albright power plant and
violate the Clean Water Act, the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy,
West Virginia Rivers Coalition, and the West Virginia Chapter of the
Sierra Club said in a joint statement. Federal law requires a 60-day
notice of intent to sue for Clean Water Act violations.
An Allegheny spokesman said the company has not seen the lawsuit and
declined to comment.
The groups say Allegheny's own information shows illegal arsenic
discharges occurred between July and October last year from the
292-megawatt, coal-fired plant in Albright.
"Allegheny is responsible for keeping toxic runoff out of the water,''
Sierra Club spokesman Jim Sconyers said in a statement. "But they
haven't done the job. It's time to do the job right, so people and
aquatic animals don't pay for Allegheny's ash disposal with harm to our
health and safety.''
Arsenic in drinking water can cause cancer, nervous system damage and
other problems.
The groups also claim that Allegheny is doing a poor job testing for
selenium. The naturally occurring element is associated with coal
mining in parts of West Virginia. Studies have found it's toxic to
aquatic life and, in humans, high-level exposure can damage the
kidneys, liver, and central nervous and circulatory systems.
Greensburg, Pa.-based Allegheny provides electric service to more than
1.5 million customers in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Maryland.