In response to a question concerning the Fayette Power Project:
Dear Maxine,
Thank you for sharing your concerns with me. To provide a clearer picture of the challenges we currently face regarding the Fayette Power Project (FPP) and the risks associated with increased coal ash discharge into the Colorado River and its tributaries, I have outlined the key scientific and environmental impacts below.
The Science of Ash Discharge
Coal ash contains a concentrated mix of heavy metals. When it enters a river system, several critical processes occur:
•Leaching of Heavy Metals: Water dissolves toxic elements like arsenic, selenium, cobalt, and molybdenum, which then bioaccumulate in the food chain.
Alkalinization (pH Shift): The high alkalinity of coal ash raises the water’s pH, which can disrupt fish physiol ogy and lead to organ failure.
Turbidity and Sedimen tation: Fine particles cloud the water, blocking sunlight for plants, while heavier particles smother riverbed habitats and spawning grounds.
Risks of Increased Discharge
As the volume of ash increases, the river's natural buffering capacity is overwhelmed, leading to:
•Groundwater Contamination: Pollutants like sulfate and arsenic leach into local
aquifers that feed back into surface creeks.
•'Dead Zones': Excess phosphorus and nitrogen trigger algal blooms that consume dissolved oxygen, creating hy- poxic zones where aquatic life cannot survive.
•Chronic Physiological Stress: Even sublethal exposure causes oxidative stress and physical deformities in aquatic insects and amphibi ans.
•Physical Injury: High concentrations of ash particles can physically clog or injure fish gills.
Impact of River Flow Fluctuations
Both low and high water flows significantly alter these risks:
1. Low Flow (Concentra tion Risk): Reduced dilution increases the concentration of contaminants, creating toxic 'hot spots' and sharper pH spikes.
2. High Flow (Mobiliza tion Risk): Flooding stirs up contaminated sediments, remobilizing metals like lead and cadmium. It also saturates ash landfills, flushing metals into the river and stimulating the production of methylmercury.
Human Health and Environmental Risks
The discharge poses documented threats to the local ecosystem and public health:
•Environmental: Selenium causes reproductive failure and local extinctions, while unlined ash pits continue to leach toxins into the groundwater.
•Human Health: Exposure
via contaminated water or fish consumption is linked to various cancers (lung, skin, stomach, and bladder), neurological damage from lead and mercury, and respiratory diseases. The EPA has noted that those living within one mile of unlined ash ponds face signifi cantly higher cancer risks.
For specific compliance data, you can track pollutants through the LCRA Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) Rule Compliance page or the Ashtracker database for FPP.
Please let me know if you are interested in the regulatory history of FPP's discharge permits, a comparison of heavy metals found at FPP versus other Texas plants, or further details on the legal require ments for monitoring these risks.
You may have read recently that landowners along the creek below the FPP have witnessed milky water, black water and sheens in the creek's water. This only signals that harm is already happening. How much we won't know until unbiased testing of the wa- ter, fish and soil are done.
— Jerry Moerbe
