Portland Power Station/Bangor Ash Disposal Site has 16 groundwater monitoring wells, 9 of which have been polluted above federal advisory levels based on samples collected between March 15, 2010 and January 18, 2016. Groundwater at this site contains unsafe levels of sulfate, manganese, boron and arsenic.
Site descriptionNRG's Portland Power Station is a diesel fuel burning plant and operates during peak energy usage only. The plant had previously operated as a 401 MW coal-fired power plant, beginning in 1958. In 2014, Portland Power Station stopped burning coal after it was directly linked to high emissions crossing into New Jersey and signed a consent decree with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Coal ash was disposed of at the Bangor Ash Disposal Site and in two residual waste impoundments located on-site.
The Bangor Ash Disposal Site is listed on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's list of potential damage cases, indicating that it has potentially polluted groundwater or surface water at levels which threaten human health and the environment. For more information about the Portland and Bangor sites, see EIP's report Out of Control.