W.H. Sammis Power Station has 20 groundwater monitoring wells, 14 of which have been polluted above federal advisory levels based on samples collected between July 11, 2016 and September 25, 2019. Groundwater at this site contains unsafe levels of sulfate, cobalt, arsenic, barium and lithium.
Site descriptionFirst Energy Corporation’s W.H. Sammis Power Plant is located in Jefferson County, OH, along the banks of the Ohio River in Stratton. Plant Sammis began operations in 1959 and operated seven coal-fired units and five oil-fired peaking units that combined to produce 2,456-MW at its peak. Four of the coal-fired units were retired in June 2020, and the remaining three are scheduled to close (or be sold) by June 2023. All the CCR material that is generated by this plant is stored in one of three active disposal sites. Plant Sammis’ three disposal sites, Pond 1, Pond 2 and Hollow Rock Facility are regulated under the CCR rule. You can find the industry reported data here. For more information on Plant Sammis, see EIP’s 2019 National Coal Ash report: Coal’s Poisonous Legacy .