Virginia Governor approves law requiring Dominion to excavate all coal ash

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, D, on Wednesday signed into law a bipartisan bill that would require Dominion Energy to excavate all the coal ash at their coal plants in the state, over 27 million cubic yards. The bill, first introduced in January, will also require that at least a quarter of the waste be recycled. The remaining ash would have to be moved into fully lined basins to prevent further groundwater contamination. Dominion Energy had originally indicated its preference for a "cap in place" closure, the favored method of most utilities, but an analysis released by Dominion in November found that it would be more cost effective to recycle a portion of the ash and sell it to interested bidders than initially reported.