Report says Indiana has 14 sites were coal ash causes underground water contamination

Information about coal ash disposal sites was provided to the public March 2 after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released the results of testing of groundwater samples collected across the U.S. as required by a 2015 federal coal ash rule. The rule, known as Coal Combustion Residuals from Electric Utilities, required utilities to test and make public the results of groundwater samples from near coal ash lagoons.

Although coal ash is not considered a hazardous material, it does contain toxic chemicals. Officials with the Hoosier Environmental Council are still evaluating the reports, according to Dr. Indra Frank, environmental health and water policy director with the council.

From the “quick look” that Frank and others have had so far at Indiana’s sites, Frank said one thing is obvious: “Any place you have coal ash without a ground liner underneath it, you get contaminated water.”

That is a problem in Indiana, which has more coal ash ponds and deposits than any other state. Frank said there are beneficial uses for coal ash, including being used in cement, asphalt or drywall. But other uses are not advised where the materials will come in contact with water, which would allow the toxic parts of the ash to leach into nearby groundwater, streams or other waterways.

At IPL’s Eagle Valley Generating Station along the White River, there are five coal ash ponds, which Frank described as “pits with berms around them.” None of them have a liner underneath, and all of them are located within the floodplain of the White River. In 2016 — the same year the generating station submitted a closure and post-closure plan to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management — the five ponds contained 2.9 million cubic yards of coal ash.