By Associated Press - Friday, February 15, 2019

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Virginia lawmakers have approved legislation to require the state’s largest electric utility to excavate and clean up unlined coal ash pits.

The General Assembly approved legislation Friday to require Dominion Energy to recycle or store in lined landfills millions of cubic yards of coal ash currently located at sites around the state.

Gov. Ralph Northam is expected to sign the legislation. The Democratic governor and a bipartisan group of lawmakers announced a compromise on the issue earlier this year.

Dominion said it also supported the plan. The company had argued for years that leaving coal ash in unlined pits was safe and the best alternative.

Coal ash is waste left from burning the fossil fuel to produce electricity.

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