The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection may change its policy for inspecting coal ash impoundments after a survey uncovered more problems _ and dams _ than expected.

A report detailing the survey shows engineers found three of the state's 20 coal ash impoundments are in poor condition and two that the state had no idea existed were rated unsatisfactory.

The rest of the state's impoundments rated satisfactory or fair, though engineers turned up potential problems, most of them involving control of animals and vegetation.

In most cases, the agency is requiring owners to bring dams up to satisfactory condition.

"None of these dams, we feel, are a problem in terms of their safety on a day like today, as long as we don't get a seismic event," Brian Long, coordinator of the agency's dam safety program, said Friday. "It's when they are stressed by heavy rainfall that we really have some concerns over some of them, but for the most part these dams have adequate storage and spillway capacity to handle very large rainstorms."

Currently, DEP has no set schedule for inspecting coal ash impoundments. Typically that's a job left to dam owners, who must report to the state annually. The findings suggest DEP may conduct its own inspections more often, Secretary Randy Huffman said.

"At least for these larger impoundments, of which there are only 20, maybe we need to go out a little bit more often and look at those ourselves," Huffman said. "We haven't fleshed out any concrete plans."

Two of the dams proved to be especially problematic.

DEP inspectors found both at an American Electric Power coal ash landfill in Mason County that isn't supposed to have any dams at all.

"That's not a good thing," Huffman said.

The Columbus, Ohio-based electric utility enlarged two storm water control ponds so much that they qualified as dams under state law, Long said. Neither meets state standards. Continued...