EPA moves to crack down on dangerous coal ash storage ponds
ABC News
The Environmental Protection Agency is taking its first major action to address toxic wastewater from coal-burning power plants
WASHINGTON -- The Environmental Protection Agency is taking its first major action to address toxic wastewater from coal-burning power plants, denying requests by three Midwest power plants to extend operations of leaking or otherwise dangerous coal ash storage ponds.
Plants in Indiana, Ohio and Iowa will have to close the coal ash ponds months or years ahead of schedule, the EPA said Tuesday, citing deficiencies with groundwater monitoring or cleanup.
Coal ash, the substance that remains when coal is burned to generate electricity, contains a toxic mix of mercury, cadmium, arsenic and other heavy metals. It can pollute waterways, poison wildlife and cause respiratory illness among those living near massive ponds where the waste is stored.
A fourth industrial site, at a former coal-power plant in New York State that now burns natural gas, is ineligible for an extension and also will be forced to close early, the EPA said. A separate coal-powered plant in Kentucky will be required to fix groundwater monitoring as a condition for continued operation of its coal ash pond, the agency said.
