I normally think of Florida as a sunny, pristine place - but this latest news from our Florida Beyond Coal campaign is very unsettling. Lakeland - a city roughly halfway between Tampa and Orlando, is the home of the C.D. McIntosh coal plant. The plant is already linked to contaminated groundwater and is one of the largest producers of toxic coal ash in the state. A new report shows that the plant also cannot protect its coal ash storage ponds from sinkholes - “a liability of catastrophic proportions to Polk County and its water supply.”
Coal ash is the toxic byproduct of burning coal for electricity. It’s full of toxins like arsenic, lead, cadmium, and more. The coal ash storage areas at McIntosh are essentially holes in the ground “lined” with coal ash ponds so there is no real barrier to prevent dangerous chemicals from leaching into groundwater, which feeds local aquifers and public drinking water supplies.
What’s more, there is a sinkhole right in the center of the McIntosh plant and many, many more sinkholes all around the plant. Not only are these sinkholes dangerous because of the threat of collapse but were the worst to occur chemicals from the coal ash stored at the plant even would rapidly contaminate the groundwater on which Lakeland families and businesses rely.
Florida Beyond Coal activists are doing an excellent job getting this important news into the local media, and holding Lakeland Electric (the owners of the McIntosh coal plant) accountable.
Unfortunately the pollution of McIntosh doesn’t stop at its coal ash:
The McIntosh Power Plant released more mercury than permitted into one of its wastewater streams for at least six months in 2015 — according to test reports — but neither Lakeland Electric nor Lakeland Water Utilities took action or recognized the problem.
Florida residents - like those across the U.S. - know that clean energy should be powering our homes and businesses. And Florida is the Sunshine State! Why keep relying on dirty, polluting coal when solar power could easily power much more of economy than Florida has allowed so far? Solar won’t contaminate drinking water - and it creates great jobs while boosting the local economy.
It’s time to retire the risky McIntosh coal plant, ensure a just transition for workers, properly clean up the site, and rely on clean energy to power the Sunshine State.