Environmentalists, Utilities Eye Richmond Coal Ash Trial

Environmentalists, Utilities Eye Richmond Coal Ash Trial
A danger sign warns of power lines near a Coal ash pond from an abandoned coal fired power plant are close to the Elizabeth River in Chesapeake, Va., Monday, June 27, 2016. A lawsuit has gone to a judge over environmentalists claim that there are leaks of arsenic and other heavy metals into a river near Dominion's abandoned Chesapeake power plant in violation of the Clean Water Act. AP Photo/Steve Helber
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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.