"An electric utility didn't violate the Clean Water Act when arsenic linked to its Virginia power plant wound up in waterways, a federal court ruled today.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court's finding that Dominion Virginia Power was on the hook for leaks from coal ash dumps at Chesapeake Energy Center, which closed in 2014.

A three-judge panel found that Dominion's coal ash landfill and settling ponds didn't qualify as a "point source" under the Clean Water Act because the arsenic flowed from sites through groundwater before reaching the Elizabeth River and Deep Creek."

Ellen M. Gilmer reports for Greenwire September 12, 2018. [2]