One of Alabama Power’s coal ash ponds is leaking harmful metals into the groundwater, according to a new federal lawsuit filed today.

Coosa Riverkeeper is suing Alabama Power, alleging that its unlined coal ash pond at the former Gadsden Steam Power Plant poses a health and environmental risk to those who live nearby and use the Coosa River and Neely Henry Lake.

“The citizens of Gadsden and folks who depend on Neely Henry Lake deserve so much better than Alabama Power’s legacy of pollution,” said Justinn Overton, executive director of Coosa Riverkeeper. “Drinking water supply, booming ecotourism, and hard-working Alabamians are all threatened by Alabama Power’s recklessness.”

A representative for Alabama Power declined to comment.

Coal ash is the byproduct of burning coal for fuel. The ash contains heavy metals, like mercury, arsenic and lead, which can cause cancer and other health problems. Historically, coal ash was stored in unlined ponds adjacent to power plants.

Coosa Riverkeeper alleges that the coal ash pond, which was capped in 2018, has been leaching heavy metals into the groundwater and the Coosa River.

In October 2024, Alabama Power reported arsenic levels that were 40 times higher than the legal standard at their groundwater monitoring wells, according to the lawsuit.

“This is no surprise, because Alabama Power’s own documents demonstrate that the bottom elevation of the coal ash is below the water table and therefore that the coal ash is in contact with and is saturated by groundwater,” the complaint says.

The Southern Environmental Law Center filed the suit on behalf of Coosa Riverkeeper on Tuesday in federal court in Birmingham. The two groups announced their intent to sue in May.

Nearly 40% of the 1.5 million tons of coal ash stored in the pond is in contact with groundwater, the environmental groups say. Closing and capping the coal ash in an unlined pit is defective and in violation of federal coal ash regulations, they allege.

“For decades, Alabama Power disposed of coal ash by mixing ash with water and piping it, underneath the Coosa River, to an unlined waterfront impoundment,” the lawsuit reads. “This ongoing pollution violates the protective requirements of the rule, and it will continue in perpetuity unless Alabama Power is ordered to comply with the rule.”

For decades, the coal ash impoundment has contaminated the Coosa River and Neely Henry Lake, the lawsuit states, as the heavy metals are discharged into the river. Ultimately, those heavy metals sink to the bottom and become part of the river sediment, according to the suit.

In addition, the environmental groups say Alabama Power relies on a groundwater monitoring system that does not adequately measure the extent of the coal ash contamination.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency also noted these deficiencies in a 2023 review of the coal ash pond’s state permit, according to the complaint.

Plant Gadsden closed in 2023 and was demolished in 2024. The on-site coal ash pond sits in the floodplain on the Coosa River, less than one mile upstream from the Gadsden water utility’s drinking water intake. It is adjacent to the Twin Bridges Golf Course and several miles upstream from Neely Henry Lake.

Because of the coal ash pond’s proximity to recreational sites and downtown Gadsden, Coosa Riverkeeper argues that the coal ash poses not just a threat to human health, but also to the area’s economy.

In 2017, Neely Henry Lake had an estimated economic impact of $570 million in the region, according to the news release from Coosa Riverkeeper. Gadsden’s water utility serves more than 14,000 customers.

Alabama Power is also facing a lawsuit regarding its coal ash pond on the Mobile River in south Alabama. In partnership with the Southern Environmental Law Center, environmental advocacy group Mobile Baykeeper sued the utility over the coal ash pond at Barry Electric Generating Plant in 2022. Mobile Baykeeper argues that the utility’s plan to cap the pond in place will leach harmful contaminants into the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta.

That lawsuit remains pending on appeal.