An agreement has been reached between the federal Environmental Protection Agency and Greenidge Generation to remove the coal ash pond that was created and operated by the Dresden facility’s previous owners.
The coal ash pond is a more than 60-year-old remnant of the previous owners’ coal-fired power operations and was used to dispose of coal ash. After purchasing the facility, Greenidge put a permanent end to coal-fired operations by converting the facility to natural gas power, investing more than $100 million to date in its power generation and, later, its datacenter operations.
Greenidge will remove the coal ash pond over five years under all federal and state standards by excavating the pond and surrounding area and removing the Coal Combustion Residuals caused by the prior owners.
Greenidge Generation President Dale Irwin said, “The pond has been a blight on our community since before I was born, and the successful operation we’ve built here is the reason it is being removed. If we didn’t make the investment to build and grow our company in Yates County – despite the objections of some – the coal ash pond from previous ownership would literally just continue to sit there, as there would be no one to fund the cleanup. Greenidge is a part of this region’s future, and we take real pride in working to eliminate this dirty relic of the past.”
Greenidge’s plan to clean up the coal ash pond will use a phased excavation and removal approach that will also aid in managing contact stormwater and site restoration. Certification of the closure by removal will be provided by a State of New York licensed Professional Engineer and conducted in accordance with national performance standards issued by the EPA.
In addition to Greenidge’s plan for the final clean-up and closure of the coal ash pond, Greenidge also has resolved outstanding issues with the EPA related to Greenidge’s reporting and monitoring of the coal ash pond during a period when the EPA’s regulations were being revised to apply to legacy ponds at inactive sites, like the Dresden coal ash pond. Greenidge has voluntarily agreed to pay a fine of $105,000 as a part of the agreement with the EPA and update reporting but has not admitted to any fault.
Since Greenidge purchased the facility in 2014, the company has never used coal or disposed of Coal Combustion Residuals in the coal ash pond. The removal of the pond posed a challenge for Greenidge, as the facility’s wastewater and stormwater were routed through the pond in accordance with Greenidge’s New York State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit. Greenidge had previously devised a plan with New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to direct wastewater and stormwater away from the coal ash pond, and now has completed the construction of the infrastructure to reroute the waters.
