Moving, Washing, Preparing and Moving Once coal is mined, it must be transported to preparation plants, washed and then moved again to power plants. At several points along the way coal is stockpiled in huge amounts. Runoff from coal piles contaminates groundwater – the primary drinking water source throughout rural America. Coal particulates fill the air, impacting surrounding communities and waterways. These particulates, called coal “fines,” can be found contaminating the air, waterways and communities everywhere that coal is transported and stored. At the prep-plant, usually near the mine, coal is mixed with water and chemicals, “sluiced and juiced,” to remove impurities that complicate the burning process. The refuse from the coal washing is a toxic, liquid slurry of chemicals and coal waste that is then pumped to a slurry impoundment – a former valley that is now filled with billions (yes “b”) of gallons of toxic sludge behind a manmade dam. These impoundments are often located above communities. Many are at high risk of failing because they can be undermined by underlying abandoned, or even active, underground mines. While coal companies are required by law to treat water that flows out of the impoundment into streams and rivers, these slurry impoundments can overflow in heavy rains or when dams fail. These slurry impoundments remain a permanent threat to downstream communities. Once washed, the coal is loaded back onto trucks, trains and barges for transport to the power plant, again, spreading toxic coal fines to communities and waterways far beyond the coalfields.