Trash Talk II: Little Blue Run Lake

By Adam Berry Former Communications Intern

Little Blue Run Lake has lost its exaggerated blue hue and now exposes what has been in the water as it has decayed to grey. FirstEnergy Corporation devised this lake as a way to dilute 20 billion gallons of coal ash. This lake crossing borders in West Virginia and Pennsylvania stands as a geological oxymoron. Even the name is misguided, nor is it little or blue. The lake is large enough to be seen from space, and the blue dye has faded. The history and inception of the lake is more corrupt than the slight of the lake itself.

Burning coal for energy seems barbaric and ignorant to the behavior’s externalities. Most are aware of the problems of obtaining and then burning coal, but what happens after the energy is extracted isn’t as widely known. What’s left is coal ash. Before the EPA released a comprehensive list of the contaminants in 2007, all we knew about coal ash is what the power companies told us about it. Then the National Academy of Sciences disputed the claim that it is as safe as dirt from the power companies, and that it could create health problems. Not only is coal ash dangerous from containing uranium, arsenic, and lead, it is also very abundant. Coal ash is the number one waste product in the country (which is why it’s its own post in Trash Talk).

Little Blue Run Lake is the largest coal ash pond in the U.S. In 1975, it was presented to local landowners as a recreational lake that would be swimmable with fish living in it. Elements from the coal ash have leaked into the groundwater making it undrinkable for the locals who thought they were getting a lake. The blue dye only lasted from 1975 to about 2003. It was passed this year that no more coal ash could be added to the lake and has been declared a hazardous waste site. The next step is to clean the ash pond. FirstEnergy started dewatering the site in late 2015, but due to the pond’s size, it’s going to be a slow process. Then the dry material will either be sent to lined landfills or be manufactured into concrete, drywall, and a number of other things.The land will be lined with geotextile and dirt will be thrown over top. This doesn’t solve the issue of all the chemicals left in the ground contaminating the water, and there aren’t any plans to do anything about it.

Virginia also has a significant coal ash problem. The commonwealth contains seven active coal-burning plants and we rely on it for a fourth of our total power consumption. Our utility corporation, Dominion Virginia Power, has been trying to rid of their collection of over 3 million pounds of coal ash taking different forms. This year Dominion obtained permits allowing them to dump coal ash into the James River. The river provides drinking water for fifty localities. Little Blue Run Lake can be seen as an environmental victory and is frequently called on when looking for wins against utility companies. The clean up of this lake will take a lot of time if it ever is to be cleaned properly. The declaration of calling this lake a win is missing the bigger problem. We still rely heavily on fossil fuels, and the weight from coal plants being shut down is put on fracked gas. The goal is to use 100 percent clean energy from solar and wind. Why are we babysitting this transition?