FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, January 11, 2021
Contacts: Hannah Lee Flath, hannahlee.flath@sierraclub.org, 860-634-0225
SPRINGFIELD, IL. -- Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) announced that it is rejecting City Water, Light, and Power’s (CWLP) request for additional time to comply with federal coal ash rules regarding waste storage at CWLP’s Dallman coal plant and neighboring coal ash impoundments. USEPA’s basis for rejecting the application is that CWLP’s application was incomplete. As a result, CWLP will have 135 days after USEPA’s final decision to stop putting limestone sludge waste into its coal ash impoundments and initiate closure.
Under new federal coal ash regulations finalized in 2015, coal plant operators were required to close coal ash ponds that were not in compliance with the updated standards by April 2021. CWLP’s ash impoundments should have closed under this timeline as they did not meet the federal standards for proper impoundment liners. However, CWLP requested additional time to close the ponds in November of 2020, stating that they were unable to meet the EPA’s required standards due to a lack of alternate capacity to dispose of waste.
The USEPA’s announcement comes amidst ongoing debates regarding how coal ash ponds at CWLP’s Dallman coal plant should be closed in accordance with federal and state coal ash standards. CWLP’s proposed closure plan to cap its ash on site in groundwater has been opposed by advocacy organizations and Springfield community members. In addition, a complaint brought by Sierra Club, NAACP, and Prairie Rivers Network is currently pending before the Illinois Pollution Control Board for hundreds of documented violations of Illinois groundwater standards from coal ash pollutants such as arsenic, manganese, and boron. Groundwater violations have continued unabated since the complaint was filed in 2017, including levels of arsenic at 10 times the legal limit.
In response to the USEPA’s announcement, Sierra Club Illinois, Prairie Rivers Network, and NAACP released the following statement:
“Today’s decision from the USEPA is good news for Springfield,” says Nick Dodson, ExCom member with the Sangamon Valley Group of Sierra Club Illinois. “Agency leadership at both the federal and state level will be critical in holding CWLP accountable to a timely and safe clean up plan for its polluting ash waste. As a community-owned utility, CWLP should be looking out for Springfield residents and water quality by addressing the well-documented groundwater contamination and putting forward responsible closure plans for this ash waste. Instead, they have sought delays and loopholes at both federal and state levels, allowed groundwater contamination to continue for years unabated, and proposed an outrageous closure plan that would allow this leaching ash to continue sitting in groundwater indefinitely.”
“Today’s announcement is good news, but frankly, these toxic ponds should have been closed last Spring,” says Teresa Haley, Branch and State President of the NAACP. “CWLP should listen to the public concerns that its proposed closure plan received in December and actually put forward a responsible plan next month that removes ash from groundwater. With today’s USEPA order to cease dumping limestone sludge from the wastewater treatment plant in its ash ponds, CWLP needs to also put forward a plan to safely store this waste in a properly lined landfill with modern permitting requirements. Instead, they just keep kicking the can down the road as if their decisions aren't impacting our community for generations to come. Enough is enough, it’s time for CWLP to clean up its act once and for all.”
“The coal ash at CWLP’s Dallman coal plant needs to be cleaned up,” says Andrew Rehn, Water Resources Engineer with Prairie Rivers Network. “The two ash ponds at CWLP are unlined, the ash is frequently in contact with groundwater, and the ponds themselves are in a floodplain. This long history of contamination at CWLP puts the groundwater at risk, and the ash ponds should have been closed a long time ago. It’s good to see USEPA finally moving forward and taking action on coal ash.”