Jul 6 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Jill Moon The Telegraph, Alton, Ill.


A coal ash site next to the Dynegy Inc. power plant is cited as a potential hazard by federal officials, but the company says it takes precautions to protect nearby residents.

The site along Illinois Route 143, overlooking the Mississippi River, recently made the EPA's list of 44 potentially dangerous impoundments across the country.

The Environmental Protection Agency recently listed the facility's coal ash storage pond as potentially dangerous to residents if there is a significant dam failure, said Matt Hale, director of EPA's office of research, conservation and recovery.

"The presence of liquid coal ash impoundments near our homes, schools and businesses could pose a serious risk to life and property in the event of an impoundment rupture," said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. "By compiling a list of these facilities, EPA will be better able to identify and reduce potential risks by working with states and local emergency responders."

There are no discovered defects that prompted the EPA to compile the list except for an incident last year in Tennessee where a coal ash pond collapsed. That failure caused flooding in a nearby neighborhood.

"(The list) is a measure of what would happen if the dam would fail," Hale said. "It is not a measure of the stability of the dam."

Dynegy spokesman David Byford agreed, noting there are ongoing safety precautions.

"There's certainly not (an imminent danger)," Byford said. "There are redundant inspections by people at the plant who inspect our impoundment regularly. We have periodic inspections by outside engineers and the (Illinois Department of Natural Resources) also conduct inspections."

Byford said the Department of Natural Resources last inspected the Wood River plant in March.

"We feel really good about it," Byford said. "We have never had any issues at this plant."

The 35-acre facility is "modern lined" and though the plant itself is quite old, the ash pond is approximately 10 years old. Capturing and storing fly ash is a common practice, Byford said.

The facility sells much of the stored fly ash to go into construction material. The purpose of the pond is to store what is not sold.

"There are thousands of high-hazard dams in the country, just about every compound you're aware of falls under that," Byford said. "This report is looking at a subset of those -- all fly ash. This is in response to the TVA Tennessee dam failure late last year."

While it's technically in East Alton, the facility referred to as the Wood River plant focuses on safety with frequent inspections.

The Illinois EPA issues permits for ash ponds to prevent ground water contamination but dam safety is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Natural Resources.

The Wood River plant powers the general region's power grid.

The Associated Press contributed information for this article.

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