EPA formally denies Alabama Power’s coal ash plan

The 600-acre coal ash ponds located at Alabama Power's Plant Barry in Bucks, roughly 25 miles north of Mobile.Photo byMobile Baykeeper

Mobile County environmental advocates are claiming victory as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a final denial Thursday of Alabama’s coal ash waste management plan, finding it is “significantly less protective” than federal regulations.

The decision was handed down Thursday, May 23, formalizing a proposal to deny the plan issued in August 2023. The permit was submitted by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) and would have operated in lieu of the EPA’s coal ash residual program.

ADEM’s plan was a hinging factor in Alabama Power’s plans to cap-in-place 21 million tons of coal ash in an unlined retention pond at Plant Barry in Bucks, which borders the Mobile River in the Tensaw Delta. It is currently unclear how the plan will impact the ongoing execution of that closure plan, or those of several other similar ponds owned by the utility.

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