Gibbons Creek Steam Electric Station has 16 groundwater monitoring wells, 16 of which have been polluted above federal advisory levels based on samples collected between June 21, 2016 and June 28, 2019. Groundwater at this site contains unsafe levels of lithium, sulfate, cobalt, beryllium, boron, cadmium, thallium, radium, lead, arsenic, mercury and fluoride.
Site descriptionThe Gibbons Creek Steam Electric Station was a 454-MW power plant operated by the Texas Municipal Power Agency in Carlos, Texas in Grimes County. The facility was purchased in 2021 by Charah Solutions Inc. and imploded in October 2021 as part of a redevelopment plan. The Texas Municipal Power Agency’s website reports the Site F Landfill, Scrubber Sludge Pond, and Ash Ponds to be regulated under the federal coal ash rule. The Scrubber Sludge Pond is 7.4 acres, and the Ash Ponds are three interconnected ponds, each 260 feet wide and 1,800 feet long. All ponds are 20 feet deep and unlined as of January 30, 2018.
You can find the industry reported data here. For more information on the Coleto Creek Power Station, see EIP's reports, Dirty Kilowatts, Groundwater Contamination from Texas Coal Ash Dumps and EIP's 2019 National Coal Ash Report Coal's Poisonous Legacy.
For more information on Texas Coal Ash, see Earthjustice's information sheet, Texas and Coal Ash Disposal in Ponds and Landfills.