"Nine years after the Gadsden Steam Plant stopped burning coal, its unlined coal ash pond is still polluting Alabama groundwater, records show."
"GADSDEN, Ala. — Cruising upstream on the Coosa River through downtown Gadsden, it would be easy to miss the old coal ash pond sitting on the north bank of the river.
It’s mostly hidden by trees and bushes, except for a narrow opening with an aging chain-link fence and a “no trespassing” sign. Even from the air, the green synthetic liner that covers 65 years’ worth of coal combustion residuals looks like an extension of the Twin Bridges Golf Club that borders the pond to the west.
“There are people that boat by this all the time and have no idea what it is,” Coosa Riverkeeper Justinn Overton said as the boat idled in the channel. “Because it just looks like it’s an extension off the golf course, or nothing to be concerned about. It doesn’t look like it’s the leftover waste from the coal-fired power plant.”
Alabama Power’s Gadsden Steam Plant was demolished last year after 109 years on the river, but the unlined coal ash pond remains, and, according to the Coosa Riverkeeper, continues to leech potentially harmful substances like arsenic, boron, chromium and cobalt into the groundwater."
Dennis Pillion and Lee Hedgepeth report for Inside Climate News May 20, 2025.
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