Georgia Power progresses on excavation, closure of 29 ash ponds
Of 29 ash ponds gathered around 11 active and retired coal-fired power plants owned by Georgia Power, to date, significant progress has been made on the closure of 19.
This work includes dewatering, excavation, and installation of specialized engineered controls and site restoration currently underway at the 19. The remaining 10 will be retired with various engineering methods and closure technologies. Site preparation and detailed engineering design are still underway at the remainder. So far, all ponds have ceased receiving coal ash, and more than 85 percent of currently produced ash and gypsum is recycled.
The recycled ash marks the first large-scale beneficial reuse project in Georgia from stored ash.
“As Georgia Power continues to make significant progress on our plans to safely close all of our ash ponds, our focus remains on protecting the environment and our surrounding communities,” Dr. Mark Berry, vice president of Environmental and Natural Resources for Georgia Power, said. “As part of our ash pond closure efforts, Georgia Power is driving innovation to identify new ways to reuse coal ash that are beneficial to our customers and communities, including opportunities for recycling stored coal ash from existing ash ponds.”
Closure efforts have been underway since 2015. Under state law, all ash ponds and landfills are regulated and must comply with an extensive permitting program run by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, designed to protect water quality. As a result, Georgia Power has installed more than 550 monitoring wells around its ash ponds and on-site landfills since 2016 to observe groundwater quality.
