Plan To Dump Wastewater in Creek Draws Fire: Report

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WOODBRIDGE, VA - A plan by Dominion Virginia power to release treated wastewater from a local power plant into Quantico Creek is drawing opposition from nearby residents and environmental groups, according to media reports.

Residents aired their concerns about the plan for the Possum Point plant at a public hearing Tuesday evening in Woodbridge, hosted by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Several people, including Quantico’s mayor, expressed disappointment with the plan, WUSA-TV Channel 9 reported.

The Possum Point plant sits on a peninsula between Quantico Creek and the Potomac River, just north of the town of Quantico. In 2003, it switched from burning coal to natural gas, according to Channel 9, but it has five man-made ponds filled with millions of gallons of water and coal ash.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ordered coal plants across the country to clean up their coal ash ponds within three years.

At Possum Point, Dominion is proposing to remove the water, treat it to remove potentially toxic chemicals and metals, and then pump the water into Quantico Creek, Channel 9 reported. No solid coal ash would be dumped into the creek, the company says.

But environmental groups, including Potomac Riverkeepers, and several legislators have publicly opposed the plan, Channel 9 said. They say the treated wastewater could still be contaminated with dangerous substances and threaten public health after it’s released.

DEQ is reviewing the plan and is expected to make a final decision in the spring.