RICHMOND, Va— Potentially cleaner rivers or possible higher electric prices.
That is what’s at stake in an upcoming federal court ruling in Virginia that could have far-reaching effects on how energy companies dispose of the waste known as coal ash, left over from decades of burning coal. Spurred by high-profile coal ash spills and new federal regulations, utilities are grappling with the disposal of vast amounts of the heavy-metal-laced waste.
In a federal courtroom in Richmond last month, Judge James A. Gibney Jr. heard four days of arguments and complex testimony from numerous experts about what should be done at a Dominion Virginia Power coal ash site along the Elizabeth River in southeast Virginia. He hasn’t said when he will rule.
