CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Federal regulators say American Electric Power Co. must conduct additional testing to examine the safety of two coal-ash impoundments at AEP's Philip Sporn Power Plant in Mason County.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials announced the move Thursday, but declined to make public an EPA contractor's report that outlined concerns about the facility.

The EPA said it "does not believe the impoundment's dam is at immediate risk of failure, given the information we currently have."

But the EPA said the more detailed report would not be released until state and local officials, along with AEP, are finished with their review process.

"Out of an abundance of caution, we are sharing this information with the community and expediting the review process -- which gives the state and the company an opportunity to weigh in on the facts in the report -- so the full report can be provided to the public as soon as possible," EPA regional administrator Bill Early said in a prepared statement.

The Sporn facility is located southeast -- but because of a bend in the Ohio River, upstream -- of the town of New Haven. It is adjacent to AEP's Mountaineer Plant, where today state political leaders are gathering for the kick-off of a key greenhouse-gas emissions-control pilot project.

While the EPA's statements referred to one impoundment, AEP actually has two coal-ash impoundments at Sporn. One facility covers 12 surface acres and is used for bottom ash; the other covers 60 acres and is used for fly ash, according to EPA documents.

EPA records indicate that inspections earlier this year discovered erosion on both dikes and slippage on the fly ash pond. AEP was required to make repairs, the EPA records show.

Tisha Petteway, an EPA spokeswoman, said her agency's concerns this time involve both impoundments at the Sporn plant.

Pat Hemlepp, a spokesman for Columbus-based AEP, said the company has reviewed the EPA contractor's report and is convinced the facility "does not pose any sort of immediate safety concerns."

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Federal regulators say American Electric Power Co. must conduct additional testing to examine the safety of two coal-ash impoundments at AEP's Philip Sporn Power Plant in Mason County.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials announced the move Thursday, but declined to make public an EPA contractor's report that outlined concerns about the facility.

The EPA said it "does not believe the impoundment's dam is at immediate risk of failure, given the information we currently have."

But the EPA said the more detailed report would not be released until state and local officials, along with AEP, are finished with their review process.

"Out of an abundance of caution, we are sharing this information with the community and expediting the review process -- which gives the state and the company an opportunity to weigh in on the facts in the report -- so the full report can be provided to the public as soon as possible," EPA regional administrator Bill Early said in a prepared statement.

The Sporn facility is located southeast -- but because of a bend in the Ohio River, upstream -- of the town of New Haven. It is adjacent to AEP's Mountaineer Plant, where today state political leaders are gathering for the kick-off of a key greenhouse-gas emissions-control pilot project.

While the EPA's statements referred to one impoundment, AEP actually has two coal-ash impoundments at Sporn. One facility covers 12 surface acres and is used for bottom ash; the other covers 60 acres and is used for fly ash, according to EPA documents.

EPA records indicate that inspections earlier this year discovered erosion on both dikes and slippage on the fly ash pond. AEP was required to make repairs, the EPA records show.

Tisha Petteway, an EPA spokeswoman, said her agency's concerns this time involve both impoundments at the Sporn plant.

Pat Hemlepp, a spokesman for Columbus-based AEP, said the company has reviewed the EPA contractor's report and is convinced the facility "does not pose any sort of immediate safety concerns."

"But we take this contractor's report very seriously and will do whatever we can to comply with their recommendations," Hemlepp said.

The EPA said concerns about the Sporn impoundments were uncovered as part of its nationwide examination of the handling and disposal of toxic ash from coal-fired power plants following the December failure of such a facility at a plant in East Tennessee.

In its news release, the EPA said its contractors discovered "factors" at Sporn that "are similar to" those at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston Plant.

"Specifically, both facilities piled coal ash and bottom ash around the impoundment to raise the impoundment's walls," the EPA news release said.

The EPA said it is requiring AEP to conduct two tests: A liquefaction test to determine if the foundation will become unstable under certain pressures, and a slope-stability test to determine if the impoundment's embankment will fail under certain pressures.

In June, a list released by the EPA included the Sporn plant's fly-ash pond among 44 "high-hazard" coal-ash dams on a previously secret list made public under congressional pressure. The high-hazard designation doesn't mean the facilities were poorly constructed or operated, or were in danger of failing. Rather, it means that, were they to fail, the result likely would cost human lives in downstream communities.

However, Brian Long, dam safety chief for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, said his agency doesn't list the facility as "high hazard," because DEP inspectors don't believe loss of human life is likely if it were to fail.

"It would be a very bad environmental situation and could cause some significant property damage," Long said.

He added that DEP officials have not yet reviewed a copy of the EPA contractor's report.

Reach Ken Ward Jr. at kw...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1702.