A Tennessee utility company on July 20 said tests on drinking water in the vicinity of a coal-fired power plant in Memphis showed no detectable evidence of arsenic, lead, and other toxins. The Sierra Club asked state officials to perform the tests after high levels of arsenic were found in monitoring wells at the Allen Fossil Plant.

Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW) said in a statement that the tests were conducted by an independent lab on 10 wells at the Allen site. The wells, which monitor pollution from coal ash ponds at the plant, supply water to a pumping station near the plant, which is operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).

The Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation (TDEC) asked MLGW to test the wells after recent water samples showed one well had high levels of arsenic, reported as more than 300 times the federal drinking-water standard, and traces of lead were found in two wells. The monitoring wells at the plant are about 50 feet deep and are located about a half-mile from much-deeper wells the TVA has drilled into the Memphis Sand aquifer, which supplies drinking water to Memphis.…

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