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.

SCURRY, Texas — Officials say a previously unknown black substance in a Scurry-area creek has been identified as non-toxic soybean ink and cleanup efforts are underway for an approximate 1.5-mile span of contamination.
On Wednesday, December 18, 2018, the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office was notified of a possible water contamination in the creek located in the 14000 block of County Road 4060 near Scurry, Texas, according to Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Jolie Stewart.
Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office deputies, who are assigned to the Environmental Enforcement Division, water in the creek was black and unnatural and traced the source to property upstream where 19 300-gallon containers of black liquid were discovered.
Deputies noted during the initial investigation that the ground appeared to be saturated with the black liquid and was contaminating the water in the nearby creek.
The investigation prompted officials from the Kaufman County Office of Emergency Management, Texas Parks and Wildlife, and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to respond to the scene.
"The contamination was contained and testing of the black liquid was completed by TCEQ," stated Stewart.
"The tests revealed the liquid to be a non-toxic soybean ink that is used in several areas of manufacturing."
Stewart says the property owner has been cooperative during the investigation and will be responsible for the paying the environmental clean-up company which will use booms placed in the water for filtration and the removal of the saturated soil.
“After testing conducted by the TCEQ and Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife, I feel confident there is no danger to the public or the environment," stated Kaufman County Sheriff Bryan Beavers.
"We are glad citizens reached out to us and encourage anyone with concerns to notify us.” No criminal charges will be filed, according to Stewart.

Imperial Beach Braces for Polluted Flooding Nearly every time it rains on the south side of the U.S.-Mexico border, beach activity in Imperial Beach comes to a stop as contaminated runoff washes onto its shorelines.
North-flowing currents push and spread the contaminants across south county shorelines and force days-long water contact closures.
Week-long rains have already forced the closure of shorelines as far north as Coronado State Beach, but now IB is bracing for something even more hazardous.
The big surf will almost certainly push sewage-contaminated ocean water into IB streets.
“Not with these signs posted.
Not with a wetsuit.
Not with a full beanie and booties.
The thought of that water making its way into city streets makes him, and Mayor Serge Dedina, uneasy.
The plaintiffs claim the federal government isn’t doing enough to stop the contaminated water from reaching U.S. waterways.
While Dedina monitors the situation with the federal government, he’s also hyper-focused at the local level.

Indeed, the Ancient Mariner’s lament about his raging thirst amid an abundance of undrinkable seawater could gradually become a thing of the past as improvements to desalination technology enable the large-scale removal of salts and minerals from the ocean But, there is a hitch: How to turn this abundant resource into drinking water without harming life in the sea and adjoining coastal environment because of the growing torrent of brine water and chemical pollution from nearly 16,000 desalination plants scattered around the globe.
A study published on 14 January by United Nations’ water researchers says there has been an “exponential increase” in global desalination capacity compared to 20 years ago — and a concomitant increase in the flow of polluted, hyper-salty brine water into the ocean.
While the biggest plants are located in the Middle East, North Africa, Spain and small island nations, the study estimates that there are now 15,906 desalination plants operating in 177 countries (with more than 300 in Sub-Saharan Africa).
And while removing salt from seawater remains a costly option compared with more conventional sources such as damming up rivers, the authors say desalination has vast potential if the power-generation costs and growing environmental concerns can be addressed.
The effluent can also contain toxic chemicals from antiscalants and antifoulants that are used in the desalination and filtration process (including copper and chlorine).
“Since seawater reverse osmosis effluents are growing in volume, our lack of full understanding of their long-term impacts demands more, not less, caution,” according to researchers Dr Nurit Kress and Bella Galil.
They point instead to an increasing body of research and case studies in the Middle East, Australia and California showing that brine effluents impact marine life in the vicinity of outfall pipes, including seagrasses and corals that serve as a nursery area for fish.
While Israeli legislation requires an EIA as part of the planning of a desalination plant, Kress says the true structure of some chemical treatments are not disclosed and no effluent toxicity tests are required.
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Jalandhar Residents highlight woes, say untreated drains claiming lives Jalandhar, December 23 Teams of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Monday visited several villages in the district which are affected by water pollution.
Led by NGT’s supervisory committee member Chander Babu, the team members visited the Kala Sanghian drain and the Chitti Bein.
While environmentalist Balbir Singh Seechewal had recently raised the issue of pollution in the drain, he had also written to the NGT on the defunct sewage treatment plants across the state which were adding to untreated water and creating pollution in the state.
Chief engineer GS Majithia and senior environmental engineer Harbir Singh were also present on the occasion.
Villagers living on the banks of the Kala Sanghian drain gave a long declaration to the NGT.
Detailing their experiences, they said they could not go to any other village now.
They complained that they were facing troubles in marrying their children as no one wanted to marry their kin in a village which was affected by diseases.
They said a large number of people in the villages were dying of cancer and hepatitis.
The teams visited Chamiara, Gazipur, Athaula, Balerkhanpur, Gurdwara Tahli Sahib, Fatehpur and Nawa Pind Khalewal villages.
Residents of Nawa Pind Khalewal said there had been over 10 deaths in the village due to cancer.

PORTSMOUTH — Two former Air Force officials believe contaminated water at the former Pease Air Force Base — and even deteriorating nuclear missiles — could have caused what they believe are an unusually high number of birth defects or still-born babies here in the early 1980s.
Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Perry Forgione said he served at the former Pease Air Force Base from 1980 to 1983.
“I lived in base housing with my family and I can tell you on a monthly basis someone from the hospital came and tested the water in base housing,” Forgione, who served with the 509th Bombardment Wing, said during the recent 157th Air Refueling Wing’s listening session at the Pease Air National Guard base.
Forgione started conducting research and determined that one “out of 500 children here at the time in 1980 were born with birth defects and we couldn’t figure it out.” Forgione believes contaminated water caused the defects.
Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Bob Egan also spoke and said in 1979 when he began serving at the Air Force base, “we all knew about this stuff.” He served at Pease Air Force Base from 1979 to 1983 as a shift commander.
Egan also served as a senior nuclear weapons convoy commander at Pease, and told the crowd they were “around the nukes all the time.” Nuclear weapons were stored in the base’s 62-acre Weapons Storage Area, which is located at the end of Arboretum Drive in the wildlife refuge.
Shortly before Egan was transferred off base he heard “that the SRAMs (short-range attack missiles) were having problems,” he said.
Egan later learned “it was probably radiation that caused the problem.” He also added that when he served at Pease “we all knew about the water” problems.
“I get it that was the middle of the Cold War (and) you didn’t want a lot of problems,” Egan said.
But he urged Air National Guard and Air Force staff to address the problem.

Brother Nut filled 10,000 emptied bottles of Nongfu Spring water, a well-known brand of bottled water in China, with the polluted water that villagers have been drinking.
Air Pollution and the Meaninglessness This is not Brother Nut’s first exhibition, and it’s not his first time speaking for environmental issues.
“We can’t see the smog,” Brother Nut said.
“Turning it into a brick that we can touch, it’s not only for protesting against the air pollution, but also for the exploration of new recycling methods.” Brother Nut has expanded beyond pollution and environment for other art projects.
He explained in an interview with VICE China that the purpose of the project is to inform people: It’s not always easy to see the real values of things.
“People don’t like to do things that seem meaningless,” he said.
“But if there is a company that pays you for doing meaningless things, you may find the values that lie behind.” Upcoming Exhibition on Water Pollution After the first bottled water exhibition, the Environmental Protection Bureau of Yulin, Shaanxi started the investigation.
Brother Nut is concerned that it’s not enough for Xiaohaotu.
“There are many places like Xiaohaotu,” Brother Nut said.
“The background of this exhibition is not only the water pollution in Xiaohaotu, but the water pollution in worldwide.” 0 Want to see more stories like this?

Mueller constructed the hydrants, which were delivered by Wolseley to the work site around spring 2014, according to the document delivered by the office of the city solicitor.
As the city investigated the source, residents in Aspen Ridge were required to use bottled water, water trucks, and temporary water lines.
“The City says that Mueller and/or Wolseley knew, or ought to have known, about the potential for the contamination substance to form in Mueller hydrants, and failed to warn the City of this dangerous condition,” the statement reads.
READ MORE: Source of mystery contaminant unknown as Rosewood water advisory lifted The city contends the companies should have known the hydrants would be connected to its potable water system.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
Neither of the defendants immediately responded to a request for an interview with Global News.
The city’s losses and damages are said to include the following: Costs of inspecting the water system; Cleaning up the contamination; Setting up temporary water lines; Providing water; Retaining experts to investigate the source of the contamination; and Identifying the substances.
READ MORE: Stantec Consulting recommended to remediate contaminated water lines After the hydrocarbons surfaced, Saskatchewan’s Water Security Agency required the city to inspect nearby hydrants and either remove and replace the affected infrastructure or bring in an engineering consultant.
In May, a “do not use” order was issued in Saskatoon’s Rosewood area after contaminated Mueller fire hydrants were discovered.
The advisory resulted in temporary water lines being installed at the neighbourhood Costco.

Checks for radioactive contamination found none on them.
Shortly after 7 p.m. the hose connection apparently failed, leaking water that was potentially contaminated with radioactive and chemical waste onto the floor and spraying the workers.
The water was found to be contaminated with cleaning solutions and chemicals.
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The Liquid Effluent Retention Facility, which stores contaminated water until it can be sent to the nearby Effluent Treatment Facility at Hanford, can hold 23 million gallons of water.
The Effluent Treatment Facility in the center of the site treats high volumes of waste water contaminated with low levels of radioactive and hazardous chemical contaminants.
Two workers were accidentally sprayed with potentially contaminated water Wednesday evening at the Effluent Treatment Facility.
The Effluent Treatment Facility in central Hanford treats up to 28 million gallons of water each year.
Courtesy Department of Energy Hanford tank farm contractor Washington River Protection Solutions has operated the Effluent Treatment Facility since 2015.
Annette Cary; 509-582-1533; @HanfordNews

The Philomath Public Works Department reported a loss of water pressure in the city’s distribution system due to a break in the water line.
City sources said residents will be informed when tests show no bacteria and the boiling of water is no longer needed.
Officials anticipate resolving the problem by the end of Thursday.
Bacteria that could possibly be present in the water supply can make people sick and are a particular concern for people with weakened immune systems, including infants and young children.
• Bring all water to a boil, let it boil for one full minute, and let it cool before using, or use bottled water.
• Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes, and food preparation until further notice.
Boiling kills bacteria and other organisms in the water.
A release from the city states that potentially harmful bacteria include fecal coliforms and E. coli which are bacteria whose presence indicates that the water may be contaminated with human or animal wastes, the city reported.
Microbes in these wastes can cause diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches or other symptoms.
People at increased risk should seek advice about drinking water from their health-care providers.