Alabama Power Company Hits Setback in Bid to Avoid Coal Ash Suit

A federal magistrate judge in Alabama refused to recommend throwing out a lawsuit alleging that a state power company’s plan to store massive amounts of coal ash near a waterway violates two federal regulations.

Alabama Power Co.’s January motion to dismiss a complaint from conservation group Mobile Baykeeper Inc. should be denied, according to a report and recommendation by Magistrate Judge Sonja F. Bivins filed Sept. 30 in the US District Court for the Southern District of Alabama.

The electric utility said the case should be dismissed for a few reasons: it wasn’t ripe for adjudication, the plaintiffs failed to ...