A Critical Step for Our Water, But a Ticking Clock at the Dam

To the editor:

I want to start by offering a sincere thank you to every Fayette County landowner living east and southeast of the Fayette Power Project (FPP) who has already stepped up to volunteer their private groundwater wells for the new water quality testing project organized by the Fayette County Groundwater Conservation District (FCGCD).

Our local groundwater is the lifeblood of this county. For years, residents and environmental advocates have voiced deep concerns regarding the millions of tons of coal combustion residuals (coal ash) sitting in unlined pits above our shared aquifer. The District’s decision to organize this targeted well testing is a massive step forward in securing the baseline health of our water supply, and I encourage anyone in that footprint who has not yet signed up to contact the FCGCD office at the Agri-Life Building in La Grange to get on the list. The more data we have, the safer and better protected we all are.

However, testing our wells is only the defensive half of the battle. The reality of what is happening at the FPPsite can no longer be ignored by state regulators or plant operators.

During the August 3rd FCGCD Board Meeting, the District publicly presented a DBS&A engineering map featuring a red asterisk. That asterisk marked a “designated effluent leak point” directly adjacent to the FPP facility and the Cedar Creek Reservoir dam.

This confirms what has been quietly discussed for months: we are not merely dealing with theoretical, slowmoving groundwater seepage from unlined ash ponds. We are looking at a verified, physical effluent leak near the structural footprint of the Cedar Creek dam itself.

The Cedar Creek Reservoir is intrinsically tied to the FPP’s cooling and coal ash operations. An active, unpermitted discharge of industrial effluent in this specific area poses an immediate threat of heavy metal contamination—including documented concerns regarding elevated selenium and cobalt— into the Gulf Coast Aquifer and the Colorado River watershed. Furthermore, any physical degradation near a dam structure requires absolute, immediate engineering intervention before a leak becomes a structural failure.

For too long, the environmental hazards at FPP have been treated as an administrative matter to be debated on paper. But a physical leak near a dam does not wait for bureaucracy.

Formal complaints have now been filed with both the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and EPA Region 6, demanding an immediate, independent physical inspection of the Cedar Creek dam and the designated effluent leak point.

First and foremost, we must stop the risk of contamination and protect our community’s water supply.

I urge our local officials, the FCGCD, and every citizen to keep the pressure on. The TCEQ and the EPA must inspect the Cedar Creek dam immediately. And in the meantime, if you have a well in the surrounding area, please call the FCGCD and get on the testing list.