Joy Hampton
Staff Reporter
OOLOGAH — (Editor’s note: This is part one in a two-part series dealing with an ongoing controversy surrounding coal combustion waste and the possible contamination of drinking water.)
Public drinking water in the Oologah area is not contaminated by heavy metals from the local Public Service Company of Oklahoma power plant according to officials at PSO and the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality.
A recently released report by environmentalist groups has sparked lively debate on the possibility of contamination of the Verdigris River and private water wells in Oologah, but officials who are monitoring the coal ash landfill at the Northeastern Station power plant say elevated levels of toxic metals are contained to PSO property.
“In Harm’s Way: Lack Of Federal Coal Ash Regulations Endangers Americans and Their Environment,” produced by the Environmental Integrity Project, Earthjustice and Sierra Club examined documentation from 35 sites with groundwater monitoring wells. That report drew conclusions about the possible contamination of drinking water in several states including Oklahoma, most notably at Northeastern Station, the American Electric Power/Public Service of Oklahoma plant located in Oologah.
“We do not have any evidence to suggest that any contamination is leaving the site,” said Skylar McElhaney, spokes person for the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality.
“There are 26 monitoring wells at the Oologah plant and they are all around the fly ash land fill,” said PSO Spokesperson Stan Whiteford. “We are monitoring the ground water. We’ve been doing that in cooperation with DEQ since 2008.”
The town of Oologah gets its water from Lake Oologah. McElhaney and Whiteford emphasize there is no evidence of elevated levels of heavy metals or contamination in local public water sources. PSO collects samples from test wells on its property and sends those samples to Oklahoma DEQ.
“DEQ has two years worth of information regarding the quality of what is in the ground water, and we have been performing what is known as a Nature and Extent Study,” said Whiteford.
That study looks at the nature or makeup of the ground water and any elevated levels of metals that are byproducts of coal ash, said Whiteford.
Levels at the test wells on the PSO property show elevated levels for heavy metals including arsenic.
“Yes, we’re well aware of the elevated levels, but there is no evidence to show that any drinking water or surface water, in particular the Verdigris River, is being affected in any way,” said Whiteford.
He said he believes a catastrophe with the Tennessee Valley River Authority regarding wet coal ash has sparked an elevated interest in coal ash by environmental groups, but Whiteford maintains that the fly ash created by the coal combustion at the Oologah plant goes into a dry landfill – a very different situation than what existed in Tennessee.
According to the 270 page report by the Environmental Integrity Project, “at every one of the coal ash dump sites equipped with groundwater monitoring wells, concentrations of heavy metals such as arsenic or lead exceed federal health-based standards for drinking water, with concentrations at Hatfield’s Ferry site in Pennsylvania reaching as high as 341 times the federal standard for arsenic.”
Those groundwater monitoring wells are on-site wells used to track potential contamination. The reports are sent by the companies to DEQ and were obtained for the report through an open records investigation.
In the case of the Northeastern plant in Oologah, environmental specialists involved with the report are concerned that arsenic is making its way into the groundwater and “moving rapidly off-site to the south near the Verdigris River.”
“We know there’s contamination, and we know it’s in the groundwater,” said Lisa Widawsky, EIP attorney. “Groundwater doesn’t just stay in one place.”
Widawsky said owners of private wells in the area should have the water quality tested.
Arsenic is a recognized carcinogen. EIP is concerned that states and some companies do not monitor beyond their own property. In other states, EIP has found dangerous pollutants ,said Widawsky.
“At this particular site (in Oologah), we just don’t have the data,” she said. “We know the groundwater is moving. It is possible that since the groundwater is moving, people in that area could be affected. They should contact their state agency and get their groundwater tested.”
There is no evidence on whether private wells in the Oologah area have been affected.
“DEQ does not regulate private water wells,” said McElhaney. “Private water wells are the responsibility of the private owners. Regarding the public water wells, there aren’t any public water wells within a 30 mile radius of the (Oologah power plant) site. There are four water intake structures upstream from the site. These supply public drinking water. They are not showing signs of contamination.”
Of greater concern are intake structures downstream.
“There are two intake structures downstream from the site, but they are 17 to 18 miles away,” said McElhaney. “They’re not showing any signs of elevated metals.”
Environmentalists associated with the report, “In Harm’s Way,” say state governments are not adequately monitoring coal combustion waste and that drinking water may not be as protected as it should be.
“Better safe than sorry,” said Widawsky. She emphasized there is a recognized increased rate of cancer occurrence in association with arsenic contamination.
