Mirant Faulkner - Notice of Intent to File Citizen Suit for Violations of the Clean Water Act

MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT 1800WashingtonBoulevardo Baltimore MD 21230 410-537-3000o 1-800-633-610I RobertM. Sumners,Ph.D. Acting Secretary

Martin O'Malley Governor Anthony G. Brown LieutenantGovernor

January 3,2011

BY CERTIF'IED MAIL EdwardR. Muller, President& CEO Mirant Corporation (GenOnEnergy,Inc.) 1155PerimeterCenterWest,Suite100 Atlanta,GA 30338

The HonorableLisa P. Jackson Administrator U.S. EnvironmentalProtectionAgency Ariel RiosBuilding(11014) 1200Pennsylvania Avenue,NW Washington, DC 20460

Mark M. Jacobs,PresidentandCOO GenOnEnergy,Inc. 1000Main Street Houston,TX 77002

ShawnGarvin,RegionalAdministrator U.S. EnvironmentalProtectionAgency Region3 1650Arch Street(SRA00) Philadelphia, PA 19103-2029

RobertGaudette,President& CEO Mirant (GenOn)Mid-Atlantic,LLC 601 l3m Street,Suite850North Washington, DC 20005 JamesP. Garlick,SeniorVice President Mirant (GenOn)Mid-Atlantic,LLCl Mirant (GenOn)MarylandAsh Management, LLC 27lI CentervilleRoad Wilmington,DE 19808

The HonorableEric H. Holder,Jr. United StatesAttorneyGeneral U.S. Departmentof Justice 950Pennsylvania Avenue,NW Washington,DC 20530

Re: Notice of Intentto File CitizenSuit for Violationsof the CleanWaterAct at the Mirant FaulknerCoal CombustionWasteDisposalSitein CharlesCounty.Mar.vland DearMr. Muller, Mr. Jacobs,Mr. Gaudeffe,Mr. Garlick,AdministratorJackson,RegionalAdministrator Garvin,andAttorneyGeneralHolder: The Stateof Maryland,Departmentof the Environment("Departrnenf')herebygivesnoticethat it intendsto bring suit underSection505of the CleanWaterAct, 33 U.S.C.Section1365,againstMirant MidAtlantic,LLC ("Mirant Mid-Atlantic"), andMirant MarylandAsh Management, LLC ("Mirant Ash"), (collectively"Mirant"), for significantandongoingviolationsof stateandfederalwaterpollution laws at the Faulknerdisposalsitein CharlesCounty,Maryland. CleanWaterAct, 33 U.S.C.Sectionl25l et. seq.; Maryland'sWaterPollutionControlLaw, Md. Ann. Code,EnviroirmentArticle, Section9-301et seq.;U.S. Dept.of Energlv.Ohio,503U.S.607,617,112 S.Ct.1627,1634(1992).

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Accordingto correspondence filed by Mirantwith theDepartment on December17,2010,on December3,2010, RRI Energy,Inc. andMirant Corporationcompleteda mergerto form GenOnEnergy, Inc. Mirant hasadvisedthatthe wholly ownedsubsidiaries andpermitholderschangedtheir namesto GenOnMid-Atlantic, LLC andGenOnMarylandAsh Management, LLC. Section44-708 of the CorporationsArticle of the AnnotatedCodeof Marylandgovernsthe effectivedateof mergers,andprovides asfollows: o'Amergeris effectiveasof the laterofi (1) Thetime [the StateDepartmentof Assessments and Taxation("SDAT")] acceptsthe articlesof mergerfor record;or (2) The time established underthe articles of merger,not to exceed30 daysafterthe articlesof mergerareacceptedfor record." In this case,asof the dateof filing of this Notice of Intent,the articlesof mergerhavenot beenacceptedby the SDAT. The only documenton file with the SDAT is a reservationof the name,GenOnEnergy,Inc.,which hasbeenfiled monthlyto hold that namesinceApril 2010. Accordingly,the Departmenthasidentifiedthe entitiesat issue in this Notice of IntentasMirant entitiesbut hasaddressed andservedthe Noticeof Intenton both the Mirant andGenOnEnergy,Inc. Presidents, Chief ExecutiveOfficers,andChief OperatingOfficers.

Mirant Mid-Atlantic,the parentcompanyof Mirant Ash, ownsandoperatesthe Morgantown electricalgenerationstationlocatedin CharlesCounty,Marylandanddirectsenvironmentalcomplianceand technicalsupportfrrnctionsat the Mirant Faulknerdisposalsite("DisposalSite"). Theprocessof electrical generationthroughthe combustionof coalproduceswaste.Mirant Mid-Atlantic andMirant Ash disposeof andpartiallytreatthis wasteat the DisposalSitelocatedin CharlesCounty,in andaroundthe ZekiahSwamp watershed, North Bowling Creek,SouthBowling Creek,andunnamedtributariesof ZekiahSwampRun, which ultimatelyflows into the WicomicoRiver,placingpollutantsin a locationwherethey may enterthe watersof the State.

A.

Coal CombustionWaste

Mirant Mid-Atlantic generates millions of tonsof coalcombustionwasteat its elechicalgenerating stations,includingMorgantown.This wasteis the residuegenerated by burningcoalandis derived primarily from incombustiblemineralmaterial. Coalcombustionwastecontainsa myriadof pollutants includinghigh concentrations of toxic pollutantssuchasarsenic,cadmium,copper,lead,mercury,selenium andzinc.

Thesepollutants,whenimproperlydisposedof or controlled,leachor areotherwisedischargedinto groundwaterandsurfacewater,therebycausingthe contaminationor otheralterationof the physical, chemical,or biologicalpropertiesof thesewaters. This contaminationadverselyimpactswatersupplies, aquaticorganisms,wildlife, andhumans,andrendersthe watersharmfulor detrimentalto public health, safety,or welfareandlegitimatebeneficialuses.

B.

Disposalof Coal CombustionWasteat the DisposalSite

The DisposalSiteconsistsof approximately800acres,of which 180acresareutilized for the disposalof coalcombustionwaste. These180acresaredividedinto DisposalPit I (alsoknown asPhasesI andII), which operatedfrom 1970through1979;DisposalPit 2 (alsoknown asPhasesIII andIV), which

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operatedfrom 1979through1989;andthe CurtisDisposalPit, which beganoperationin 1989andis slated for closure. None of the disposalpits were adequatelylined to preventleachatefrom migrating from the disposalsite to groundwateror surfacewaters. DisposalPits I and2 were coveredwith soil but not with an impermeablecap. The CurtisDisposalPit will be closedonceMirant Ash submitsa plan for closureand cappingthat is approvedby the Department.

More than5.5 million cubicyards,or 8,434,800tons,of coalcombustionwastehavebeendeposited at the DisposalSiteoverthe last forty years.

Becausethe disposalpits were inadequatelylined and impermeablecapswere not installed,rainwater andsnowmelt penetratethe disposalpits, flow throughthe accumulated waste,andleachout toxic pollutants,which thenenterthe groundwaterandaredischargedinto Bowling Creek,Lower Bowling Creek, UpperBowling Creek,North Stream,SouthStream,andunnamedtributariesof ZekiahSwampRun. These toxic pollutantsinclude,but arenot limited to, aluminum,arsenic,barium,beryllium,boron,cadmium, mercury,nickel,pH, chloride,chromium,cobalt,copper,cyanide,iron, lead,magnesium,manganese, selenium,silver,sulfates,total suspended solids,tin, andzinc.

C.

Wastewaterand LeachateCollectionand Treatment

To addressthe unauthorized dischargeof pollutantsto groundwaterandsurfacewaters,Mirant Ash installedpumps,subsurface walls, liners,andsettlingpondsto collectleachatefrom the disposalpits. drains, Six settlingpondsareusedto collectgroundwaterandleachatepumpedfrom DisposalPit l. Wastewaterin the pondsis aeratedandtreatedwith sodaashbeforeit is discharged via Outfall 001. This leachate collectionandtreatmentsystemfails to preventpollutedleachatefrom enteringwatersof the State. Because the settlingpondswerenot adequatelylined,heavymetalsthat sink to the bottomof the pondscontinueto leachinto the groundwateraquifer,which is hydro-geologically connectedto tributariesof ZekiahSwamp Run. As a resultof continuedunauthorized discharges of pollutants,Mirant Ash proposedto constructa passivetreatmentsystem,which it claimedwould preventthe disposalof coalcombustionwastefrom causingadverseimpactsto groundwaterandtributariesof ZekiahSwampRun dueto unauthorized discharges.The passivetreatmentsystemconsistedof a seriesof wetlands,limestonebedsandorganic-rich reactivecells intendedto attenuatelow pH andhigh concentrationsof metal in the collectedleachateand groundwater.The systemwas constructedin December2002,but failed to preventleachatefrom entering groundwaterand surfacewatersfrom the disposalpits, settlingponds,and outfalls. Many of the pollutantsin the pondsdo not settle,dissolvein the waterin theponds,andthendischargedirectlyto UpperBowling Creekvia OutfallsA andC, andto a point down-gradient of the CurtisDisposalPit via Outfall F. Accordingto a May 18,2006MarylandDepartmentof NaturalResources PowerPlantResearch Programstudy,despitethe passivesystem,the coal combustionwastewzrsa continuingsourceof sulfates andmetalsin groundwaterand surfacewater. The studyconcludedthat therehad beenno significant change

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Mirant-FaulknerLandfill January3,2011 Page4 of9 in the spatialextentof analytesor chemicalparameters in monitoringlocationssince1995,and recommended that additionalremedialmeasures be taken.

D.

Water BodiesImpacted

UpperBowling Creek,Lower Bowling Creek,Bowling Creek,North Stream,SouthStream, unnamedtributariesof ZekiahSwampRun,ZekiahSwampRun,andthe WicomicoRiver arenavigable watersof theUnitedStatesandwatersof the Stateof Maryland.33 U.S.C.$ 1362(7);Md. CodeAnn., Envir. $ 9-101(l). They areUseI watersof the Stateprotectedfor watercontactrecreation,fishing,aquatic life andwildlife. The ZekiahSwampwatershedis a valuableanduniqueecologicalarealocatedwithin the Bay Watershed.

Chesapeake The DisposalSitelies within the CoastalPlainPhysiographic Province. Surficialterracedepositsare characterized by undifferentiatedsands,claysandgravelformingthe Alluvial aquifer. Thus,the Disposal Site sitsovera shallowunconfinedwatertable,with the impactedgroundwaterinfiltrating the aquiferand detrimentallyaffectingwaterqualitybeneaththe fill areas.The generalgroundwaterflow directionat the pollutantsin the groundwaterthat leach site is to the easttoward the Zek,rahSwampRun. As a consequence, from the disposalpits andsettlingpondsmigrateto the eastanddischargeinto ZekiahSwampRun. Groundwaterand surfacewater samplingconfirmsthat pollutantspresentin the groundwaterbelow the disposalpits dischargeto Bowling Creekandtributariesof ZekiahSwampRun. E.

The DischargePermit

On FebruaryI,1997, the DepartmentissuedNationalPollutantDischargeEliminationSystem ("NPDES")DischargePermitNo. MD-0056928(StateDischargePermitNo. 93-DP-1623)(the "Discharge Permit")to the PotomacElectricPowerCompany("PEPCO"),the prior ownerof the DisposalSite, authorizingthe dischargeof certainpollutantsfrom Outfalls001 and002. On or aboutDecember22,2000, whenMirant Ash purchased the DisposalSitefrom PEPCO,the existingdischargepermitwastransferred from PEPCOto Mirant Ash, andMirant Ash assumedPEPCO'sobligationsunderthe DischargePermit.

The DischargePermitwasbasedon an applicationsubmittedby PEPCOon June8, 1993. While the permitapplicationidentifiedthe following pollutantsas"present,"the concentrations disclosedwerevery quality low andnot at levelsthat would causeor contributeto violationsof water standards:arsenic, cadmium,copper,lead,mercury,nickel, selenium,silver,andzinc. Consequently, the DischargePermitdid not includeeffluentlimitationsfor thesepollutantsbaseduponthe representations madein the application thatthe pollutantspresentin the discharges from the authorizedoutfallswould not posea risk to water quality.

The DischargePermitdoesnot authorizethe dischargeof pollutantsfrom Outfalls001 and002that arenot expresslyauthorizedby the permit. It alsodoesnot authorizedischarges of anypollutantsinto Bowling Creekandtributariesof ZekiahSwampRun from anypoint otherthanthroughOutfalls001 and

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002. The DischargePermitdoesnot authorizeanydischarges via OutfallsA, C andF to surfacewaters. It doesnot authorizedischarges of anypollutantsto groundwater, which thenflows to tributariesof Zekiah SwampRun. Dischargesof pollutantsfrom Outfall 001 or Outfall 002reportedto be present,but at concentrations that would not causeor contributeto violationsof waterquality standards in the 1993applicationandnot includedin the DischargePermit,areunauthorized if dischargedin concentrations that would causeor quality pollutants contributeto an exceedance of water standards.Dischargesof in anyconcentrations to Bowling Creekor tributariesof ZekiahSwampRunthroughleaksin the disposalpits, settlingpondsand passivetreatmentsystemsarealsounauthorized anda violationof the law.

On or aboutJune11,200I, Mirant Ash submittedto the Departmentan applicationfor renewalof the DischargePermit. In this application,Mirant Ash reportedthat mostof thepollutantsidentifiedas"believed present"in the 1993applicationwere"believedabsent.'oPollutantsthat Mirant Ash reportedas"believed absent"includealuminum,arsenic,barium,beryllium,cadmium,chromium,cobalt,copper,cyanide,lead, mercury,selenium,silver,andtin. Mirant Ash madetheserepresentations despitemorethanthirty yearsof dataon the constituentsof leachateanddischarges from coalcombustionwaste. In addition,Mirant Ash failedto identify sodiumandchlorideasbeingpresentin the discharge.

Mirant Ash is requiredto collectgroundwatersamplesat the Site,aswell as samplesfrom Bowling Creekand SouthStream,andreportthe findingsat eachof the monitoringwells andsurfacewaterlocations.

The DisposalSiteis monitoredby twenty-threegroundwaterwells asdescribedin the DischargePermit.

Waterquality of Bowling Creekand SouthStreamaresampledfrom four surfacewaterlocationsthat border the DisposalSite,andwaterqualityof the treatmentcellsanddischarges aresampledfrom OutfallsA, C andF. F.

UnauthorizedDischargesof Pollutants

Dischargesof pollutantsfrom OutfallsA, C andF arenot authorizedin any concentrations because theseoutfallsarenot identifiedasdischargepointsin the DischargePermit. Samplingof dischargesfrom OutfallsA, C andF, however,showconcentrations of cadmium,copper,leadandseleniumexceedingwater quality standards andTotal Suspended Solidsexceeding30 mg/I. Surfacewatersampleresultsreportedby Mirant Ash showcadmiumabovenumericalchronic ambientwaterquality criteria at all four surfacewater samplinglocationswithin Bowling CreekandSouthStream.

The DischargePermitdoesnot authorizedischarges of pollutantsto groundwaterin any concentration.Monitoring resultssubmittedby Mirant Ash andMirant Mid-Atlantic from groundwater monitoringwells aroundthe disposalpits demonstrate unauthorizeddischargesof sulfates,total dissolved solids("TDS"), manganese, iron, chlorides,cadmium,aluminum,andpH. Fifteenmonitoringwells have shownresultsabovethe 250 mg/l secondarymaximumcontaminantlevel ("MCL") for sulfateswith the highestconcentration of 2800mg/l occurringin monitoringwell FC-3. Furthermore, ninewells reported

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TDS levelshigherthanthe 500 mg/l secondaryMCL with FN-3 havingthe highestconcentrationat 3400 mg/I. Monitoringwells haveconsistentlyshownhigh concentrations of manganese andiron. At leastseven of the wells reportedmanganese levels50 to 60 timesgreaterthanthe secondaryMCL. Dissolvedcadmium levelshaveexceededthe MCL in approximatelynine wells. Severalwells showedsignificantlevelsof aluminumandchloridesin excessof the secondaryMCL. Eieht wells showedsulfatelevelsthat are 5 to 8 timesthe secondaryMCL. Outfall, surfacewater,andgroundwatersamplescollectedon October5,2010 revealedexcessive amountsof seleniumandchloridethat violatewaterquality standards.A samplefrom Outfall 001 revealeda seleniumconcentration of 7.0 ug/I. A surfacewatersampletakenfrom a samplingstationin UpperBowling Creekrevealeda seleniumconcentration of 5.7ug/I. Both of thosetestresultsconstituteexceedances of the Marylandnumericalwaterqualrtycriteriaandthe nationalrecommended waterquality criteriaestablished by the EPA of 5.0 ug/l for selenium.A samplefrom Outfall 001revealeda chlorideconcentration of 724 mgA. A surfacewatersampletakenfrom monitoringwell F-8 revealeda chlorideconcentration of 610 mgll. Thus, both of thosetestresultsconstituteviolationsof the chronicnationalnon-prioritypollutantwaterquality standardof 230mg/l for chloride.

Furthermore,Mirant Ash submittedfive quarterlydischargemonitoringreportsbetweenthe first quarterof 2009andthe first quarterof 2010showingexceedances of MCLs in all of the groundwater monitoringwells that arerequiredto be sampledunderthe DischargePermit. Followingis a list of MCL exceedances at eachwell duringthe abovetime period,identiffing the well andthe numberof quarterly reportsshowingexceedances of a particularpollutant: MonitoringWell

Pollutant

Well FN-l

DissolvedIron DissolvedManganese pH3 Chloride Sulfate TotalDissolvedSolids(TDS)

5 5

DissolvedIron DissolvedAluminum, DissolvedCadmium pH5 Sulfate TDS

5 5 2

Well FN-2

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Numberof quarterlyreportsshowingexceedances of Pollutant(First Ouarter2009- First Ouarter2010)

1 5 5

5 5

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of Nurnberof quarterlyreportsshowineexceedances 2010) First Ouarter Pollutant(First Ouarter2009

pH DissolvedIron DissolvedAluminum DissolvedManganese Chloride Sulfate TDS

5 4 5 5 4 5

Well FN-4

DissolvedAluminum DissolvedIron Dissolvedmanganese TDS

I I I I

Well FN-5

DissolvedManganese DissolvedIron

J

Well FN-6

Well FC-l

Well FC-2

pH DissolvedIron DissolvedManganese Chloride Sulfate TDS pH DissolvedAluminum DissolvedManganese DissolvedIron DissolvedCadmium Chloride TDS pH DissolvedAluminum DissolvedIron DissolvedManganese DissolvedCadmium Chloride Sulfate TDS

)

2 4 )

5 J

5 5 1 J

4 2 I I J

5 5 4 5 5 J J

4

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Pollutant pH DissolvedAluminum DissolvedCadmium DissolvedManganese TDS DissolvedIron Chloride Sulfate Well FC-4:

pH DissolvedAluminum DissolvedCadmium DissolvedManganese TDS Chloride Sulfate

5 ) )

5 ) I 4 5

5 5 4 )

5 a J

5

In violationof 33 U.S.C.$ l3l I andMd. CodeAnn.,Envir.$$ 9-322and9-323,samplingresults from groundwatermonitoringwells, from outfalls001,A, C andF, andfrom Bowling Creekand South Streamdemonstrate that Mirant Ash andMirant Mid-Atlantic aredischargingandcontinueto discharge pollutants,includingbut not limited to, aluminum,a^rsenic, barium,beryllium,boron,cadmium,chlorides, chromium,cobalt,copper,cyanide,iron, lead,manganese, mercury,molybdenum,nickel,pH, selenium, silver,sulfates,TDS, tin, andzinc from the disposalpits, the treatmentcells,the settlingpondsandthrough Outfalls001,002,A, C andF into Bowling Creekandtributariesof ZekiahSwampRun directlyor through discharges to groundwaterthat is hydro-geologically connectedto surfacewatersthat arenot authorized,or in amountsthat arenot authorized,bythe DischargePermit. In addition,Mirant Ash andMirant MidAtlantic continueto dischargefrom OutfallsA, C andF, which aredischarges not authorizedby the DischargePermit. Further,sampleresultsof the leachatein thetreatmentpondsdemonstrate the presenceof pollutantsin a positionlikely to polluteBowling Creekandtributariesof ZekiahSwampRun, unauthorized which constitutesa dischargeunderMarylandlaw. All of theseunauthorized discharges arecontinuingand havebeenoccurringdaily sinceat leastDecember1,2005.

Until the disposalareais completelylined or enclosedto preventthe dischargeof pollutantsto surfacewatersor groundwaterof the Stateand/oruntil all leachateis collectedandtreatedprior to discharge to Statewaters,Mirant Ash andMirant Mid-Atlanticwill continueto unlawfully dischargepollutants entrainedin leachatefrom the coalcombustionwasteto groundandsurfacewatersof the Stateandnavigable watersof the United States.

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Mirant-FaulknerLandfill January3,2011 Page9 of9 Theseillegal discharges to groundwaterandsurfacewaterinto UpperBowling Creek,Lower Bowling Creek,Bowling Creek,North Stream,SouthStream,unnamedtributariesof ZekiahSwampRun, andZekiahSwampRun,which flow into the WicomicoRiver,constitutesignificantandongoingviolations of stateandfederalwaterpollution laws,contaminating the groundwaterandsurfacewatersof the Stateof Maryland,therebycausingan adverseimpacton the environment.Consequently, noticeof the State'sintent given. file is hereby to suit Sincerelv.

RobertM. Summers,Ph.D. Acting Secretary

cc:

The HonorableMartin O'Malley, Governorof Maryland The HonorableDouglasF. Gansler,AttorneyGeneralof Maryland

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