STATEWIDE — Texas is home to 16 coal-fired power plants, which the Environmental Integrity Project says are all contaminating nearby groundwater.
16 coal-fired power plants in Texas Contaminated water near all 16 plants Poorly stored coal ash The group studied newly available data from each of those plants and found all of them have unsafe water nearby, when compared to standards in the Safe Drinking Water Act.
The Sierra Club’s Chrissy Mann said the problem is contamination from poorly stored coal ash.
"That has to be deposited somewhere, and coal ash waste is some of the most dangerous stuff that comes out of burning coal," she said.
"The Fayette Power Project complies with all applicable state and federal environmental requirements, including regular monitoring and testing of groundwater," LCRA spokeswoman Clara Tuma said in a statement.
Fayette Power Project’s monitoring and reporting confirm that FPP is appropriately in "detection," not "assessment," monitoring.
"We are not talking about switching it tomorrow.
That highlights another concern: the sheer amount of coal ash created every year.
Texas alone generates more than 13 million tons, EarthJustice Attorney Lisa Evans said.
CPS in San Antonio just retired its Deely coal-fired power plant last month, but Mann said the utility has no immediate plans to retire its Spruce power plant, which also uses goal.