Oral arguments were held in federal court in the case of Mobile Baykeeper v. Alabama Power Company over coal ash .

The case was previously dismissed but is on appeal in the 11 th Circuit of Appeals.

Nicholas Torrey, the attorney for Mobile Baykeeper, summarized the organization’s complaint against Alabama Power. The power company is closing its Plant Berry coal ash lagoon by capping it with a synthetic cover, leaving coal ash underneath. Concerns include leaching arsenic and other toxic metals and pollutants that could reach surrounding waters.

A state solid waste permit authorizes the capping, but Torrey claimed that it violates three federal closure standards.

“The rules require coal ash lagoons like Plant Berry to close and to do so by selecting a closure method that will eith

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