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Resident raises flood-risk concerns over coal-slurry impound; county says DNR review and emergency plan are underway
Summary
A resident urged commissioners to treat the Bridal coal-slurry impound as a potential public-safety threat; county staff said spillway and maintenance work exceeded state requirements and documentation was submitted to DNR, and that an emergency action plan is being prepared.
During public comment, resident Norm Miller presented GIS-derived images and pressed commissioners about the risk posed by the Bridal coal-slurry impound. He said a surveyor had estimated breach elevations and volumes that, if realized, could flood downstream areas and cause severe impacts to neighboring Gibson County.
"If this thing were to breach to the east... it goes across and forms a dam there on Pigeon Creek," Miller said, describing model elevations and expressing concern about the impoundment’s long-term fate and whether the county intends removal or another end state.
County staff responded that the owner’s contractor had cleared approximately 1,600 feet of spillway — well beyond the 200 feet regulators required — and that documentation had been submitted to the Department of Natural Resources for verification. Staff said an emergency action plan requested by EMA and homeowners is also being prepared by the project team.
"We're absolutely gonna do everything we can to keep the public informed, work with the experts who are on-site and work with DNR," a county official said.
Commissioners and staff said they would continue coordinating with state agencies and on-site professionals before proposing any formal resolution declaring a public-safety hazard, and that more data are needed before taking that step.
