Coal plant owner faces new heat

Oct 05 - Chicago Tribune

Already under pressure to curb noxious air pollution, the owner of four coal-fired power plants in Illinois is facing new legal complaints about toxic chemicals and heavy metals leaching from decades-old waste ponds.

Citing testing data submitted by Midwest Generation, a coalition of environmental groups this week accused the company of repeatedly violating solid waste and water pollution laws by allowing arsenic, boron, manganese and other contaminants to leak from ponds that hold coal ash -- waste generated from burning coal.

So far there is no evidence that the pollution has affected private wells near Midwest Generation's coal plants in Joliet, Romeoville, Waukegan and Pekin, in the center of the state. But utilities nationwide are being scrutinized more closely after a 2008 disaster at a coal plant along the Ohio River in eastern Tennessee, where a coal ash pond burst and spread contaminated muck across more than 300 acres.

Environmental groups said they filed their complaint against Midwest Generation to ensure the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency follows through on its own legal action. The EPA this summer sent notices to Midwest Generation and two other power companies, Ameren and Dynegy, citing multiple violations at ash ponds for nine of the state's coal plants.

"Not only are we breathing toxic air pollutants emitted by Midwest Generation, but when we get a glass of water or take a shower, we worry that it may contain poisonous chemicals like arsenic," said Ellen Rendulich, director of Citizens Against Ruining the Environment or CARE, a nonprofit Will County group.

Doug McFarlan, a Midwest Generation spokesman, said the company has not seen the complaint but "will defend our operations vigorously against parties who have long sought any avenue to try to close down coal-fired power plants."

Despite years of studies documenting how coal ash can threaten water supplies, dozens of makeshift holding ponds across the nation still are regulated far more loosely than household garbage landfills. The Tennessee disaster led the Illinois EPA to take a closer look at the state's ash ponds, and the agency found that several were so old that they weren't lined to prevent groundwater contamination.

The EPA also started requiring routine monitoring of groundwater near the state's ash ponds in response to environmental groups, including the Environmental Integrity Project, Environmental Law and Policy Center, Sierra Club, CARE and Prairie Rivers Network.

In Washington, coal and utility lobbyists have thwarted several attempts to regulate coal ash like other forms of toxic waste. The Clinton administration declared that coal ash is hazardous but soon reversed its decision in the face of intense opposition. The Bush administration promised to impose new regulations but never did so.

The Obama administration proposed rules in 2010 that it says would ensure coal ash is transported and stored safely. Those rules have yet to be put into effect.

mhawthorne@tribune.com

Twitter @scribeguy

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