But massive amounts of ash remain along the banks of the river. The plant stopped burning coal in 2015 and began burning natural gas in 2018. Indiana has the most coal ash ponds of any state in the country, and nearly all of them are leaking into the surrounding waters.Īt Eagle Valley, the coal ash was mixed with water and stored in huge, unlined ponds in the floodplain of the White River, according to HEC. It produced a lot of coal ash: nearly 3 million cubic yards of the toxic waste.Ī byproduct from burning coal, the ash contains a dangerous mix of heavy metals and toxic chemicals such as arsenic, boron, lead and mercury. Clean-up measures cancelled outĮagle Valley began operating in 1949 as a coal plant. “AES Indiana, including its Eagle Valley Generating Station, takes pride in its compliance with the environmental regulations and permits,” utility spokeswoman Kelly Young said. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management, the agency that approved the permit, said the renewal was issued “in accordance with all requirements and provisions of the Clean Water Act” and considered “applicable effluent” limits.Īnd AES Indiana said it meets all applicable requirements and that it’s “lawfully discharging” under its permit. ![]() “There is a contradictory shell game being played here.” “You can’t have it both ways, but that’s what’s happening here,” said Kim Ferraro with the Conservation Law Center at Indiana University. But then AES Indiana is running that water through the plant's cooling system before dumping it into the river. Power play: Lawmakers plan for disposal of solar and wind systems, but not toxic coal ashĬritics claim the utility is skirting the rules by pumping water contaminated with coal ash from wells installed on the facility to stop the pollution. “I’m sorry, but pumping contaminated groundwater into the river shouldn’t count as clean-up,” said Indra Frank, the director of environmental health and water policy at HEC. ![]() The Hoosier Environmental Council along with the Conservation Law Center is now challenging that permit - arguing that it actually enables the spread of pollution - with the Indiana Office for Environmental Adjudication. The environmental groups claim that permit violates a federal rule meant to help prevent and clean-up coal ash contamination across the country. Indiana regulators recently renewed the utility’s permit for its Eagle Valley plant in Martinsville. ![]() The state is allowing AES Indiana to dump more than 1 million gallons of water contaminated with harmful coal ash pollutants directly into the White River every day, according to Indiana environmental groups who call the approval process a "contradictory shell game."
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