EDITORIAL: Keep coal ash out of water supplies across Illinois

Illinois holds the unfortunate title as the state with the most coal ash pits. Let’s make sure those pits don’t contaminate our environment.

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Waukegan_plant.jpg

Two unlined ash pits (top right) sit near Lake Michigan (top left) at the Waukegan Generating Station.

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Illinois holds the unfortunate title as the U.S. state with the most coal ash pits.

They’re a prime source of pollution and even threaten our drinking water. Illinois must do more to ensure they don’t contaminate the environment.

We favor a bill in Springfield that would do just that.

Coal ash is produced by coal-burning power plants, and it is often dumped into large water-filled pits. Over recent decades, millions of tons of coal ash have been stored near power plants in Illinois. The ash, which contains hazardous pollutants such as arsenic, mercury, lead, chromium and other heavy metals, can ooze into the groundwater, and that toxic brew can move into wells, rivers and lakes.

EDITORIAL

A bill that has passed in the state Senate would direct the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to begin a rule-making process to require power plant operators to safely dispose of coal ash or ensure the pits are properly enclosed. It would impose fees on coal ash pits to pay the costs of hiring IEPA staff to oversee enforcement. And it would require power plant operators to set aside money to pay for cleaning up pits in the event a plant is shut down or a company goes bankrupt.

In some other states, utilities are proposing to charge ratepayers for those cleanup costs. Nationwide, the costs have been estimated in the billions of dollars.

Many of the pits in Illinois lack liners to keep toxic contaminants from leaching into groundwater, where the toxins can remain for hundreds of years, environmentalists say. Health risks include brain damage, cancer, learning disabilities, birth defects and reproductive defects.

More than 80 pits can be found from Waukegan to the state’s southern tip. Most of the ash pits in Illinois are near rivers or lakes. In Waukegan, for example, groundwater around two unlined ash pits at a coal-fired power plant generally flows toward nearby Lake Michigan, depending on how high the lake level is.

Of 24 sites near power plants that have been tested, the groundwater at 22 contains contaminant levels that exceed Illinois drinking water standards, said Andrew Rehn, water resources engineer for the Prairie Rivers Network.

But for decades, authorities have essentially looked the other way instead of telling corporations they are responsible for ash that is created when coal is burned to generate electricity.

“We are a state that has been slow to take action on this issue,” said Colleen Smith, legislative director for the Illinois Environmental Council.

New federal regulations are expected to require that more than 50 unlined pits in Illinois be shut down, probably by next year, but state rules are needed to ensure the job is done properly, Smith said. Even if no new coal ash is added, decisions must be made about what do with existing ash and who will pay for the cleanup.

Also, the Trump administration has pushed to weaken the federal rules.

On Thursday, the House Energy & Environment Committee voted 19 to 11 to advance the bill, which deserves the support of the whole House. Once groundwater is contaminated, it’s hard to clean up.

Illinois must stop coal ash pollution at its source.

Send letters to letters@suntimes.com.

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