At Plant Bowen near Cartersville, Georgia Power is requesting a permit from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) to store over 20 million cubic yards of toxic coal ash on top of unstable land prone to sinkholes known as karst terrain.

Despite Georgia Power’s plan to install a liner under Bowen Ash Pond 1 (AP-1), which would be the largest single coal ash site in Georgia, leaving coal ash at AP-1 puts our water and health at risk due to the unstable ground at Plant Bowen. Coal ash at the site has been found to contain unsafe levels of toxins including arsenic, boron, cobalt, and molybdenum that can cause cancer, organ damage, reproductive problems, and other serious health issues.

In 2002, a four-acre wide sinkhole opened underneath Plant Bowen AP-1, releasing 2.25 million gallons of coal ash into Euharlee Creek. This spill resulted in arsenic levels rising to 1,250 parts per billion, more than 120 times the federal drinking water standards, and forcing downstream public drinking water intakes to suspend operation. Additionally, multiple sinkholes formed at AP-1 in December 2008, also caused by the unstable karst terrain. If another sinkhole were to occur at Bowen, millions of tons of toxic coal ash waste could spill into Euharlee Creek and the Etowah River, which are directly next to the ash pond.

Send a message to Georgia EPD demanding they protect our water from another spill at Plant Bowen by requiring Georgia Power to move its toxic coal ash to a safely lined landfill on stable ground away from waterways!

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