In recent years, dozens of residents who live near Georgia Power’s largest coal power plant, near Macon, alleged in lawsuits that pollutants from the site contaminated groundwater and sickened them.
In recent weeks, just before one of the cases was scheduled to go to trial, 10 related lawsuits were resolved outside of court, potentially bringing an end to the yearslong legal battle.
Resolutions outside of court typically mean a settlement was reached, but neither Georgia Power nor attorneys for the plaintiffs would confirm a deal was struck — or any terms. In response to questions from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about a possible settlement, both sides said only that the case was “resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties.”
One of the cases had been set to go to trial last month. Just before Thanksgiving, a Monroe County Superior Court judge issued a flurry of rulings on motions by Georgia Power, mostly siding with the utility. Those rulings appear to have sent the two sides to the bargaining table.
Days later, one case in Monroe County and nine other lawsuits filed in federal court in Macon were voluntarily dismissed with prejudice by the plaintiffs, meaning they cannot be refiled.
The lawsuits centered around Plant Scherer, a massive power station in Juliette, about 20 miles northwest of Macon, which has burned coal to generate electricity since the early 1980s. Burning coal for electricity leaves behind coal ash, a byproduct that contains lead, mercury, cadmium and other toxic metals that have been linked to cancers and other serious illnesses.
Like at many other coal plants, Scherer’s waste has been submerged in a giant lagoon called an ash pond. The plant’s ash pond stopped receiving coal remnants in 2019, but still contains more than 15 million tons of the material, according to the company. But at Scherer, the lake of waste is unlined.
Credit: Elijah Nouvelage
Credit: Elijah Nouvelage
The lawsuits detailed serious health problems that have plagued the plant’s neighbors, ranging from cancers and skin damage to cardiovascular and neurological issues.
The cases were largely similar and argued toxins from the ash pond escaped into the groundwater that many living nearby relied on for drinking water and were to blame for their health problems. They also claimed the construction of Lake Juliette, a separate Georgia Power reservoir near the plant, disturbed naturally occurring uranium deposits in the area, leading to unsafe levels of the toxic element in drinking water wells.
Georgia Power has denied the claims.
The plaintiffs sought to hold the company liable for negligence, failure to warn, nuisance, trespass and physical injury, among other charges. The lawsuits were seeking compensation for “ongoing personal and property damages,” punitive damages, funding for medical monitoring, an injunction to halt the alleged ongoing nuisance and trespass, plus other relief.
Before the cases were voluntarily dropped, Monroe County Superior Court Judge Thomas H. Wilson ruled he did not believe several plaintiffs’ cases met the burden of proof needed to prove their diseases were caused by Georgia Power’s operations at Plant Scherer. The judge also found many of the negligence and nuisance claims related to Scherer’s ash pond and the construction of Lake Juliette should be dismissed, along with the residents’ request for medical monitoring.
“There are no material facts supporting plaintiffs’ allegations that Plant Scherer’s operations caused or contributed to any personal injury alleged in this case,” Wilson wrote.
Georgia Power spokesman Jacob Hawkins said the company was “pleased with the court’s decision in this case, which concluded that Plant Scherer does not negatively impact drinking water and did not cause or contribute to any injuries.”
Stacey Evans, an attorney for plaintiffs and an Atlanta area state representative in the General Assembly, said the judge’s ruling did not prevent all cases from going to trial. Evans said she and the other members of her legal team were prepared to try the case of Kylie Seitz, a resident of Juliette and a plaintiff in the Monroe County case who claimed she suffered injuries from exposure to radium, lead and other elements.
“Despite Kylie’s readiness for trial, Kylie and all 69 Plaintiffs in all 10 cases pending in state and federal courts were pleased to be able to resolve the cases to the mutual satisfaction of the parties,” Evans said in a statement.
Concern over contamination of groundwater around Scherer has already led Monroe County to run water lines to serve residents near the coal plant, allowing them to end reliance on wells.
Richard Dumas, the public information officer for Monroe County, said the county completed a $20 million project in 2022 to extend county water services to about 900 homes close to Scherer. So far, he said, about 450 have made the switch to county water.
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