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The Mount Storm Power Station, located on the west bank of Mount Storm Lake 2 mi from Bismarck, West Virginia, is a coal-fired power station owned by Dominion Resources. It is the largest power plant that Dominion operates. Mount Storm's three units use around 15,000 tons of coal to generate more than 1,600 megawatts of electricity from the coal synfuel. According to Dominion, that’s as much in one hour as 160 average homes use in one year. Mount Storm Power Station produces energy for around 2 million people in Northern Virginia.

History

Mount Storm Power Station was engineered and built by Stone & Webster, an American engineering service company from Massachusetts. They built Mount Storm's first coal plant unit in September 1965, the second unit soon after in June 1966, and the third unit in December 1973. During the first few decades that the station existed, the hazard of fly ash was a big problem for the employees of Mount Storm Power Station as well as for the people living in the surrounding communities. These people were constantly exposed to the asbestos not even knowing of its existence. It was not till the 1970's where rules were passed to regulate the exposure of these toxicants. Due to the lack of regulation, people who worked in the power station prior to 1980 have been diagnosed with "asbestos-related illnesses, including asbestosis and the much more deadly mesothelioma." Since then Mount Storm Power Station has kept up with all government regulations and now catches most all of the toxicants produced by burning the coal before it can harm the employees or the surrounding community.

Coal-Fire Power Stations

Coal-fire power stations create energy by first burning a powdered coal and an air mixture in a boiler furness to produce heat. The Carbon in the coal and the oxygen combine to create Carbon Dioxide and heat. This heat passes to the water inside the coils located in the furness. This water is then forced to move up the coils to the boiler where the hot water turns to high pressure steam. This high pressure steam is forced through pipes to a steam turbine, where the high pressure turns the turbine. This turning motion turns the generator which then creates electricity. The electricity is then transferred to the grid by exiting through a transformer and on ward to where it will be used by the public.

During the process of burning the coal to make the electricity, many different environmental issues come into play. The first being the smoke admitted into the atmosphere during the burning of the coal. This thick black smoke called fly ash, willows out of the smoke stacks and can cause major environmental problems. To prevent this the United States Government has created regulations for coal-fire power stations in each state. Mount Storms boilers, have electrostatic precipitators that catches around 99% of the fly ash before it even leaves the plant. Another environmental chemical that coal-fire power stations are known to produce is Sulfur Dioxide (SO2). Sulfur Dioxide is a toxic gas that is known to give off an irritating smell and can harm humans if inhaled in great quantities. To regulate this in the coal power plant at Mount Storm, lime stone scrubbers in the burners were installed so majority of the toxicant does not reach outside the station. Mount Storm can catch 95% of all SO2 before it is released into the atmosphere. Dominion states that Mount Storm Power Station exceeds the regulations set by the West Virginia regulators.

Mount Storm Lake

Mount Storm Lake is a reservoir created for Mount Storm Power Station along the Stony River. This lake is 1,200 acres and is used as a cooling pond for the power station. The power station sucks up approximately 234,000 gallons of water from the lake per minute to cool down the turbines. This results in the entire lake being sucked up and recycled in just 2.5 days. Due to this cooling process, Mount Storm Lake is warm all year around. "Even when winter temperatures are below freezing, the water temperature in the lake seldom drops below 60 degrees F. This makes the lake an attractive year-round destination for scuba divers, boaters and fishermen." However, some people are resistant to participate in these water activities due to the proximity to the coal-fired station.

Due to the year round cooling process,the warm water has an affect on the environment called Thermal Pollution. Thermal pollution is defined as "a rise in the temperature of rivers and lakes that is injurious to water-dwelling life, and is caused by the disposal of heated industrial waste water." One effect that thermal pollution has, is it reduces the levels of Dissolved Oxygen in the water. The dissolved oxygen reduces the amount of oxygen in the water that plants and animals need to survive. Warm water also provokes the spread of algae in the water which can also reduce levels of oxygen. Another effect that thermal pollution has on the environment is it increases the metabolic rate of organisms. "Increasing enzyme activity occurs that causes organisms to consume more food than what is normally required... It disrupts the stability of the food chain and (can) alter the balance of species composition." However, it is hard to tell if the thermal pollution from the plant is affecting the environment to the point where plants and animals are dying off. While many people are attracted to the lake for the warm water and fishing, others refuse to go near the lake due to the possible toxicants it may carry.

Prohibited Activities at Mount Storm Lake

No person, individual, firm, company, association, corporation, institution or group shall be allowed to use any Dominion-owned properties at Mount Storm Lake or lake waters for the following uses, activities or actions:
 * Commercial purposes of any kind (including fee-based scuba instruction, sale of merchandise or food, etc.).
 * Burning of any kind, or creation of fire from any source, for the purpose of cooking or for the purpose of discarding trash, leaves or other vegetation.
 * Possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages or other controlled substances.
 * Use of motorized land vehicles in other than areas specifically designated for such use such as paved roads, parking lots and public ramps.
 * Polluting the waters of Mount Storm Lake and adjacent Dominion-owned property with hazardous liquid/material, sewage, garbage, rubbish, vegetation, debris, petroleum products, or debris of any kind.
 * Possession or use of any kind of firearm, gun, pistol, firecracker or fireworks on Dominion property or on or within the waters of the lake, excluding law enforcement personnel on duty with jurisdiction of the Mount Storm Lake area.
 * Hunting.

Wind Farm

Mount Storm also includes Ned power Mount Storm, LLC which is a nearby wind farm with 132 wind turbines, of which Dominion owns half of them. These wind turbines are placed along 12 miles of the Allegheny Front. The wind farm began construction in 2006 and is now currently fully operational. The wind generates up to 264MW of electricity which is enough to power 66,000 homes.