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Georgia Power completes 5 ash pond closures

Georgia Power Co. announced March 2 that it has completed construction work and closure of five ash ponds.

The ash ponds are located at coal plants Harllee Branch, Kraft ST, Jack McDonough and Yates. By the end of 2018, the Southern Co. utility expects to complete excavation at another six ash ponds at the McDonough, McManus, Hammond and Yates plants, according to a news release.

The effort is part of the utility's plans, announced in 2016, to complete closure of 29 ash ponds near 11 current and retired coal plants in 14 years.

"We are working well in advance of regulatory deadlines and posted groundwater results 18 months ahead of today's required federal deadline," said Dr. Mark Berry, vice president of environmental and natural resources for Georgia Power. "Additionally, we are exceeding state and federal requirements by completely excavating 17 ash ponds adjacent to waterways and using advanced engineering methods to close the remaining 12 in place on our property."

Georgia Power's ash pond closure plans were designed to fully comply with the federal Coal Combustion Residuals rule, or CCR, as well as the more stringent requirements of the state CCR rule. Since 2016, Georgia Power has installed approximately 500 groundwater monitoring wells around its ash ponds and on-site landfills to actively monitor groundwater quality.