Repairing the Damage

The report examines the hazards of coal ash disposal, particularly in the Ohio River Valley, and advocates for 'clean closure' (excavation) over 'cap-in-place' methods. Through case studies of the Sebree Generating Station in Kentucky and the J. M. Stuart Station in Ohio, the authors demonstrate that comprehensive cleanup generates significantly more jobs and economic output than utility-proposed plans. The document highlights the disproportionate impact of coal ash pollution on low-income communities and people of color, and calls for stronger EPA enforcement and state-level regulations to ensure the safe removal of toxic waste.

• Coal ash is one of the two largest industrial waste streams in the United States, with US electric utility companies generating 4.5 billion tons between 1966 and 2017, and an average of 101 million tons annually from 2015 to 2019.
• The Ohio River Valley—comprising Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia—contains 161 coal ash disposal sites at 57 operating or retired plants, representing more than one-fifth of the 738 such sites nationwide.
• Coal ash disposal sites in the Ohio River Valley disproportionately affect low-income communities; 58 percent of the 57 plants in the region are located in areas where residents have an average income at or below twice the federal poverty level, which is higher than the national average of 52 percent.
• Groundwater contamination is widespread, with over 90 percent of the 738 nationwide coal ash disposal sites leaking at levels that make the underlying groundwater unsafe for drinking.
• The 2008 Kingston coal ash spill in Tennessee is identified as the largest industrial disaster in US history, spilling 1.1 billion gallons of waste and resulting in at least 53 deaths among cleanup workers.
• The report argues that 'clean closure' (excavation) is environmentally superior to 'cap-in-place' because capping cannot prevent leaching when coal ash is in direct contact with groundwater.
• A case study of the Sebree Generating Station in Kentucky found that a clean closure plan would create an average of 282 jobs per year during the four-year construction phase, nearly double the 144 jobs per year estimated under the utility's plan.
• A case study of the J. M. Stuart Station in Ohio found that clean closure would create 314 jobs per year during the nine-year construction phase, compared to 252 jobs per year under the owner's plan, and would generate $809 million in economic output over 39 years versus $667 million.
• The report notes that extracting rare earth elements (REEs) from coal ash is currently largely uneconomical and will not significantly reduce the total volume of coal ash waste.
• The authors recommend that the EPA stop classifying unencapsulated coal ash as a 'beneficial use' and instead treat such applications as a form of disposal to prevent groundwater leaching.

APA

Richardson, J., Dixon, E., & Boettner, T. (2021). Repairing the Damage. Union of Concerned Scientists. https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/2021-10/repairing-the-damage-report_2.pdf

Chicago

Richardson, Jeremy, Eric Dixon, and Ted Boettner. Repairing the Damage. Union of Concerned Scientists, 2021. https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/2021-10/repairing-the-damage-report_2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Richardson |first1=Jeremy |last2=Dixon |first2=Eric |last3=Boettner |first3=Ted |title=Repairing the Damage |publisher=Union of Concerned Scientists |date=October 2021 |url=https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/2021-10/repairing-the-damage-report_2.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{richardson2021repairing, author = {Richardson, Jeremy and Dixon, Eric and Boettner, Ted}, title = {{Repairing the Damage}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2021}, month = oct, url = {https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/2021-10/repairing-the-damage-report_2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }