Opening Brief Submitted in Georgia Power 2019 Rate Case Appeal

Friday, April 9, 2021

Contact: Emily Bosch - emily.bosch@sierraclub.org

ATLANTA, GA —Today, the Sierra Club submitted its opening brief to the Georgia Court of Appeals in Sierra Club v. Georgia Public Service Commission and Georgia Power Company over the company’s 2019 rate case where the Southern Company subsidiary was approved to collect $525 million from ratepayers for coal ash pond closure costs. Total coal ash clean up costs are estimated to be upwards of $8.1 billion, already a significant increase from Georgia Power’s $7.6 billion estimate during the 2019 rate case. 

The PSC approved Georgia Power’s increase on ratepayer’s bills despite Georgia Power’s responsibility in creating the coal ash mess in the first place by storing toxic ash in unlined ponds. A recent ProPublica investigative report revealed, decades ago, Georgia Power made a business decision to not safely dispose of coal ash the company knew to be toxic to human health because it was not “economically feasible.” In the rate case, Georgia Power didn’t detail how it would spend the $525 million it requested. The PSC allowed Georgia Power to collect this sum even though the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) has yet to approve coal ash management permits for the company’s coal ash ponds. Without approved permits, the costs are entirely speculative and could increase if EPD requires Georgia Power to excavate all the coal ash ponds and properly store the ash in lined landfills. 

There are around 92 million tons of coal ash in Georgia, and Georgia Power has proposed to store over half of the coal ash in unlined pits, risking further groundwater contamination. 

Coal ash contamination is environmentally destructive and directly harms public health. According to the ProPublica report, “cancers linked to coal ash contaminants include ones in the liver and lungs, prostate and bladder, and stomach and skin. . . . [an] EPA report found that nearby residents had as much as a 1 in 50 lifetime risk of developing cancer from drinking water with high levels of arsenic, one of the most common coal-ash contaminants.” Groundwater contamination from coal ash will last for decades, impacting future generations of Georgians. 

David Rogers, Southeast Deputy Regional Director for the Beyond Coal Campaign, issued the following statement:

“We hope that the Georgia Court of Appeals will send this bad decision back to the PSC. Georgia Power customers have already paid for the coal being burned - both with their pocketbooks and with their health. They shouldn’t have to foot the bill for Georgia Power’s bad business decision decades ago to not properly dispose of this toxic coal ash. Georgia Power made its investors enormous profits by cutting corners on safe storage. Now the company wants a bail-out from their ratepayers.” 

“As Southern Company brags about meeting emissions reduction targets early, let’s not forget that the company is still operating coal plants throughout Georgia that aren’t economically competitive and actively pollute our air and water. We will be paying for Georgia Power’s decisions with our health and our wallets long after the coal plants close down, look no further than the 92 million tons of coal ash that are at this very moment contaminating groundwater.” 

To find out more about coal ash contamination in Georgia, visit GeorgiaCoalAsh.org

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.