Mountaineer Plant has 19 groundwater monitoring wells, 13 of which have been polluted above federal advisory levels based on samples collected between September 26, 2016 and September 11, 2019. Groundwater at this site contains unsafe levels of sulfate, lithium, boron, molybdenum, arsenic, cobalt, lead, fluoride and radium.
Site descriptionAmerican Electric Power’s Mountaineer Plant is a 1,300 MW power station located along the Ohio River in New Haven, West Virginia. The plant started operating in 1980 and has two units regulated under the CCR rule: the Bottom Ash Pond and the Landfill. Both storage sites are in active use. Mountaineer Plant has switched to dry fly ash handling. Fly ash now is stored in a lined landfill. The Bottom Ash Pond, with the area of approximately 10 acres, is located south of the plant. There are six main ponds within the Bottom Ash Complex: East Bottom Ash Pond, West Bottom Ash Pond, East Wastewater Pond, West Wastewater Pond, Reclaim Pond and Clearwater Pond. The Landfill site is located about 2 miles east of the Mitchell Plant. You can find the industry-reported data here. For more information on the Mountaineer Plant, see EIP’s 2019 National Coal Ash Report.