Cardinal Plant has 59 groundwater monitoring wells, 47 of which have been polluted above federal advisory levels based on samples collected between October 04, 2010 and November 12, 2019. Groundwater at this site contains unsafe levels of sulfate, lithium, arsenic, manganese, boron, molybdenum, cobalt, radium, lead, strontium, fluoride, barium, beryllium, cadmium, silver and thallium.
Site descriptionCardinal Plant and its coal combustion waste disposal sites are in Brilliant, Ohio sitting on the edge of bluffs overlooking the Ohio River in Jefferson County. The facility consists of three coal-fired units with a total capacity of about 1,800-MW. Unit 1 is slated to be retired by 2030. All the ash disposal units listed above are regulated under the CCR-rule. The disposal areas include the Bottom Ash Complex (Bottom Ash Pond and Recirculation Pond), Fly Ash Reservoir 1 (decommissioned) and Fly Ash Reservoir 2. In May of 2012, American Electric Power applied for permission to raise the dam height of Reservoir 2 by 13 feet to accommodate waste disposal plans through 2019.
Hydrogeological reports document that the two reservoirs have significantly impacted the site geomorphology and hydrogeological conditions due to the filling of two branches of Block House Hollow and valley fills of saturated fly ash; the reservoirs likely contribute recharge (and contamination) to upper aquifers, which are themselves hydrologically connected to lower aquifers shared by nearby residential wells.
You can find the industry-reported data here. For more information about the Cardinal Steam Plant, see EIP's 2019 National Coal Ash Report.