Gadsden, AL – The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), on behalf of the environmental nonprofit Coosa Riverkeeper, has formally notified Alabama Power Company of its intent to sue over alleged violations related to coal ash pollution at the former Gadsden Steam Plant. The notice claims that the utility’s current coal ash storage practices are in violation of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and federal Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) Rule.
At the center of the dispute is a capped but unlined coal ash lagoon located on the banks of the Coosa River and Neely Henry Lake. The lagoon contains approximately 1.5 million tons of coal ash, a byproduct of burning coal for power generation. Though Alabama Power has capped the pond, reports from the company indicate that nearly 40% of the ash remains saturated in groundwater. According to data from October 2024, arsenic levels in the groundwater were found to be forty times higher than legal limits.
The Riverkeeper and SELC allege that the coal ash continues to contaminate groundwater and that Alabama Power’s monitoring system does not adequately detect the full extent of pollution. The notice, sent to Alabama Power, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Alabama environmental regulators, gives the utility 60 days to resolve the alleged violations before a lawsuit may be filed in federal court.
“The stacks at Plant Gadsden may be gone, but Alabama Power’s legacy of pollution remains,” said Justinn Overton, Executive Director of Coosa Riverkeeper. She expressed concern over the site’s proximity to Gadsden’s drinking water intake and called for the removal of the coal ash.
The site lies less than a mile upstream from a water intake facility serving over 14,000 residents. Advocates for cleanup point to past coal ash disasters—such as the 2008 Kingston spill in Tennessee—as cautionary examples, citing long-term environmental and economic damage that followed. Neely Henry Lake itself supports recreational activities and tourism, with an estimated regional economic impact of up to $570 million in 2017.
Barry Brock, director of SELC’s Alabama office, argued that Alabama Power is lagging behind other utilities in the Southeast that have taken steps to excavate coal ash from unlined impoundments and move it to safer, lined landfills.
In response to mounting environmental concerns across the region, utilities such as Duke Energy, Dominion Energy, and the Tennessee Valley Authority have committed to relocating millions of tons of coal ash. Alabama Power’s sister company, Georgia Power, is also undertaking similar efforts, including a plan to excavate an additional 16 million tons of ash as of May 2024.
Coal ash is known to contain heavy metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and arsenic, which the EPA warns can pose serious health risks, including cancer and organ damage.
Alabama Power has not yet issued a public response to the notice. Under federal law, the utility has a 60-day period to address the allegations or face legal action seeking to bring the site into compliance with coal ash regulations.
