Coal Ash

Over 20 years ago, the Wayne County, Ga, Commission approved a regional facility to accept household waste –the Broadhurst Landfill. In 1996, the landfill was purchased by Republic Services, a publicly traded company that owns almost 200 active landfills across the country. Republic then began to purchase land, until the 1996 tract of 902 acres had expanded to 2,200.

January 2016: Central Virginia Properties, a Spartanburg, SC company, (and a subsidiary of Republic), filed an application with the Army Corps of Engineers to “develop” 25 acres of wetlands south of Jesup, in Wayne County, near the Broadhurst landfill. They planned to lay a rail spur adjacent to the CSX line, so they could bring in over 100 gondola cars per day of something called “CCR” via rail, 100 gondola cars a day. CCR = Coal Combustion Residuals

Meanwhile, “The state is investigating a “statistically significant increase” in vanadium that was detected at a groundwater monitoring well at the Chesser Island Road Landfill near the Okefenokee Swamp. The levels of vanadium have been “generally increasing” since 2012 at the massive Waste Management (Republic) dump in Charlton County, according to a March 2016 letter from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division.

Millions of pounds of coal ash — which also contains arsenic, chromium, lead and mercury — have been accepted at the landfill.” Atlanta Journal Constitution, June 16, 2016

Camden County Landfill accepted CCR (including the Jacksonville Electric Authority coal ash by-product known as “EZBase”) until 2009. The untested and potentially unsafe EZBase coats the following areas in Camden County:
- Osprey Cove Golf Course (where it was subsequently removed as a condition of sale. A resident informs me that the paths were crumbling and people were complaining of headaches and respiratory issues).
- Cumberland Harbour roads (in the process of being removed and replaced)
- The Cumberland Harbour fire department parking lot.
- Hammock Cove (adjacent to Park Place apartments).
- The Reserve at Park Place.
- Bridge Pointe residential development.
- Gilligan’s Island (surrounding a spring-fed lake).
- Alvah Brazell Rd. N. (Kingsland).
- 1+ acre commercial parking lot on Point Peter Rd.
- The cities of Kingsland and Woodbine.
- Camden County Landfill (accepted coal ash until 2009)
**All areas have been confirmed by city and county staff. It is expected that further inquiries will reveal that many more areas are likewise affected.

The EPD will accept written comments regarding coal ash (CCR) until close of business (4:30 p.m.) on Aug. 10. Written comments may be emailed to EPDComments@dnr.state.ga.us or sent via regular mail addressed to Branch Chief, Land Protection Branch, 4244 International Parkway, Suite 104, Atlanta, Georgia 30354.
If you choose to email your comments, please use “CCR Rule amendments” in the subject line to help ensure that your comments will be forwarded to the correct staff.
For more information, contact Land Protection Branch, Solid Waste Management Program, at 404-362-2696.