Environmental groups are preparing to sue Dynegy Inc. subsidiary Dynegy Midwest Generation Inc. over alleged leaks of coal ash into a nearby river at its retired Vermilion Power Station in Illinois.
On Jan. 31, Earthjustice sent a notice of intent to sue to Dynegy President and CEO Robert Flexon on behalf of Illinois clean water nonprofit Prairie Rivers Network, an affiliate of the National Wildlife Federation.
Earthjustice attorneys Thomas Cmar, Jennifer Cassel and Mychal Ozaeta threatened to file a citizen suit within a federal district court within 60 days if Dynegy fails to comply with its National Pollution Discharge Elimination System, or NPDES, permit. They claim three unlined ash ponds at the Vermilion plant are illegally leaking coal ash into the Middle Fork, a stretch of the Vermilion River the state designated as its most scenic river.
The NPDES permit, required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Water Act, covers nine points at the plant where it is allowed to discharge wastewater, but the groups claim coal ash has been leaking from outflows not allowed by the permit.
The coal plant had two steam turbines that started operation in the mid-1950s and closed in 2011, S&P Global Market Intelligence data shows. The three ash ponds at the plant are the Old East, New East and North ash ponds, according to the notice.
Dynegy spokesman David Byford confirmed by phone that the coal ash ponds are no longer active.
Hazardous materials are seeping into the river, which violates the Clean Water Act, said Jennifer Cassel, who serves as program attorney for Earthjustice's coal program. Coal ash, a byproduct of coal power generation, can contain harmful contaminants such as mercury, cadmium, and arsenic, according to the EPA's website.
Dynegy, based in Houston, disputes the allegations and said it continues to work with the Illinois EPA on selecting the most appropriate engineered caps to cover its coal ash sites, Byford said Feb. 1.
The Illinois EPA said, "Efforts have been underway to address Dynegy Vermillion's coal ash ponds since 2012," according to an email from spokeswoman Kim Biggs. In May 2017, the agency approved a closure plan for Dynegy's North and Old East ash ponds that involved groundwater sampling, submittal of a riverbank stabilization report and cost analysis for each closure option, Biggs said. "The final step in the closure plan, due in October 2018, will include a report describing the results of the groundwater sampling, groundwater modeling and closure options based on that modeling," she added. All of this information will help the agency make a decision on which closure option to approve.
Cassel said the closure plans and documents Dynegy has filed thus far with the Illinois EPA "do not address the entirety of the pollution going into the river."
The Illinois EPA in July 2012 also issued a violation to Vermilion for groundwater violations, Biggs said, but Byford said the plant filed a corrective action plan to the agency that same year.
