The Long-Awaited Perry County Coal Ash Suit...

...has been filed, according to The Birmingham News online...alleging the Arrowhead Landfill does not have the proper permit because it is allowed to dispose of solid waste, but there is leachate from the landfill that ends up in a tributary of the Cahaba River. The suit asks the court to halt the shipment of coal ash from Tennessee immediately.

     Perry County officials have been divided on the coal ash shipments. The local D.A. had told me a lawsuit was forthcoming, but the County Commissioners support the landfill because it pays millions in fees. That money has helped the county overcome the effects of proration on the education budget.

     The landfill owners have refused reporters permission to see the processes underway behind the Uniontown police-guarded gates, but insist the leachate is blocked by a combination of a thick EPA- approved liner, and a pumping system that removes any liquids before they can reach the water table.