Owners of a dozen coal ash ponds across Indiana have even more time to clean up utility waste environmental advocates have long been saying contaminates the state’s water.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Feb. 9 published its final rule extending compliance deadlines set in 2024 under the Biden administration. Administrator Lee Zeldin said the changes are meant to support electricity grid reliability while safeguarding human health and the environment.
The new rule allows facilities an extra three years to comply with federal groundwater monitoring requirements and one year to complete a report on the coal ash sites.
Coal ash is the residue left over from burning coal, typically produced at power plants. Utility owners historically have buried the ash in impoundments or ponds. If those ponds are unlined and uncapped, contaminants in the ash, such as arsenic and mercury, can leak into groundwater and in turn impact the ecosystem and health of residents living nearby.
In Indiana, these ponds, formally known as coal combustion residual units, have left groundwater full of these contaminants at levels more than 40 times the standard set by the U.S. Safe Drinking Water Act, according to a 2018 IndyStar report.
What the new coal ash rule does
Federal coal ash rules have been in place since 2015, requiring coal ash pond owners to monitor groundwater for contamination at sites currently in use. Older, or legacy, coal ash sites were not subject to the rule.
In 2024, the U.S. EPA issued an updated rule addressing those legacy sites. The rule set deadlines for power plants to finish site reports by 2027 and begin groundwater monitoring by 2028.
Utilities that operated coal-fired power plants now have an additional year to complete the reports and three years to begin groundwater monitoring.
Danielle McGrath, president of the Indiana Energy Association, told IndyStar these new deadlines allow utilities extra time to properly identify the units that fall under the original 2024 rule. No sites under the 2015 rule are affected.
“Utilities throughout Indiana continue to pursue appropriate closure of regulated [coal combustion residual] units in a manner that is protective of human health and the environment and in accordance with state and federal regulations,” McGrath said.
Delays mean more contamination, advocates say
Indra Frank, with the Hoosier Environmental Council, said delaying the clean up of coal ash ponds will lead to more contamination in Indiana’s groundwater. The best way to stop contamination from reaching groundwater is by installing a nonpermeable liner under the pond.
“It’s been clearly demonstrated that everywhere we have coal ash without a liner under it, we have contaminated groundwater, and the majority of Indiana’s coal ash disposal sites are unlined,” Frank said.
Contamination from these sites shows up in Indiana’s communities in different ways, Robyn Skuya-Boss, president of the Hoosier Chapter of the Sierra Club, said. The mercury from these ponds can build up in rivers and end up in the fish people catch and eat.
“People are inadvertently getting exposed to these toxins in our environment,” Skuya-Boss said. “These are toxic sites and it is up to us to clean them up so we don’t pass on an environmental mess to future generations.”
EPA rule continues deregulation efforts
Zeldin and other EPA officials say the rules offer regulatory relief for utilities while helping ensure the electric grid remains reliable.
“Today’s deadline extensions and revisions will ensure that electric utilities can efficiently meet regulatory standards while protecting human health and the environment,” Zeldin said in a news release.
This article was written by IndyStar reporter Karl Schneider.