4. COAL: EPA reveals locations of "high-hazard ash dumps (06/29/2009)

Eric Bontrager, E&E reporter

U.S. EPA today revealed the locations of 44 coal-ash impoundments determined to be high-hazard sites that the Obama Administration had been keeping secret, citing national security concerns.

The list posted on EPA's Web site reveals the location, name and operator of impoundments at 26 locations the agency found potentially dangerous in the event of a collapse. The 10 states with the high-hazard sites on the list are Arizona, Georgia, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Montana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

The security of the impoundments became an issue last December in the wake of a devastating spill at a Tennessee Valley Authority power plant.

"The presence of liquid coal ash impoundments near our homes, schools and business could pose a serious risk to life and property in the event of an impoundment rupture," EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said in a statement. "By compiling a list of these facilities, EPA will be better able to identify and reduce potential risks by working with states and local emergency responders."

EPA collected information about impoundments from power companies that operate the impoundments for their power plants' ash. The Homeland Security Department and the Army Corps of Engineers urged the agency not to make public the locations of the dumps.

Environmental groups and Senate Environment and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) called on the administration to reveal the location of these sites, arguing that people who live near them have a right to know about them, especially since locations of Superfund dumps and other hazardous sites are public knowledge.

Boxer said she was pleased with the administration's decision to reveal the locations but pledged her committee would continue to examine the coal ash issue.

"One of the lessons we all learned from the TVA coal ash spill is that a close look at these waste sites is extremely important," she said in a statement. "The Environment and Public Works Committee will continue its investigation of these coal ash waste impoundments, and as part of our oversight, I plan to conduct additional hearings on this issue."

Click here to view the list.