Houses Under Coal Combustion Waste Storage Ponds

Belmont, North Carolina

This is one of the plants on the EPA list of sites that could cause death and damage if the ash waste pond retaining dikes were to fail (which they do with some frequency.) Coal ash is presently unregulated due to intense lobbying by the utility companies, but is in fact quite toxic, containing substances such as arsenic, mercury, chromium, and cadmium. Since the containment ponds are generally not lined, these toxins leach down and contaminate groundwater.

So many thanks to Southwings for flight support!