Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2011 

## Mirant facing lawsuit in federal court over coal wa ste Action consolidates two coal cases into one legal sweep in federal c ourt by Margie Hyslop | Staff Writer The state plans to sue Mirant Mid-Atlantic and Mirant Maryland As h Management in federal court for alleged violations of federal and state water pollution laws involving t he disposing of coal combustion products at disposal sites in Montgomery and Charles counties, state of ficials said Monday. Documents that MDE filed notifying the company and federal officials of the state's intent to sue acknowledge that Mirant merged with RRI Energy Inc. to form GenOn Ener gy Inc. on Dec. 3. Unlined pits for disposing of coal waste from Mirant power plants have allowed toxic pollutants to leach into groundwater and streams from the Westland site in Montgomery County a nd from the Faulkner site in Charles County, according the Maryland Department of the Environment. The agency said the pollution levels do not appear to pose an immediate hea lth threat. Discharge samples collected from wastewater collection ponds near the Westland site contained levels of arsenic, barium, chromium, cobalt, copper, iron, selenium and zinc that violated water quality standards, according to documents MDE filed Monday. The ponds discharge wate r into unnamed streams, which run into the Potomac River. Groundwater monitoring wells near the Westland site, located on Mar tinsburg Road in Dickerson, also showed excessive levels of pollutants found in the pond discharge samples, except for chromium and cobalt. Wastewater in the ponds is aerated and treated with soda ash, but t hat treatment is inadequate, MDE documents state, because one pond is not lined and another was unlined until 2010. Heavy metals sink and leach from the pond into a groundwater aquifer, whic h also is linked to the Potomac, according to the documents. Neal Fitzpatrick, director of the Audubon Naturalist Society, said continued dumping in unlined pits "sounds like a loud ticking clock," marking mounting threats to the groundwater that most of the Sugarloaf and Dickerson communities rely on for drinking water. MDE already had filed suit in state court over the Faulkner site, but withdrew that state lawsuit to consolidate the cases in federal court, according to the agency's announce ment. Agency documents say groundwater and discharge samples confirm that pollutant s from the Faulkner disposal site appear to have harmed Bowling Creek, South Stream and tr ibutaries of Zekiah Swamp Run. In April, MDE filed suit in federal court against Mirant over s imilar violations at its disposal site in Brandywine. Page 1 of 2 Mirant facing lawsuit in federal court over coal waste

10/2/2012 http://ww2.gazette.net/stories/01052011/montnew190254_32539.phpIn an e-mailed statement, GenOn officials said the company is proud of its "record of environmental

stewardship and its compliance with all laws and regulations applica ble to its business." The statement also said officials disagree "with the Departme nt's interpretation of the Clean Water Act, and intends to litigate, if the Maryland Department of the Environment does file suit." mhyslop@gazette.net Page 2 of 2 Mirant facing lawsuit in federal court over coal waste

10/2/2012 http://ww2.gazette.net/stories/01052011/montnew190254_32539.php