After decades of contamination, community members can provide input about what steps AES Indiana should take to reduce coal ash contamination at the White River.
Some of the White River’s contaminated groundwater comes directly from AES’ Harding Street Station on the southwest side of Marion County. Additionally, some of the toxins are flowing from the AES location and into the Harding Street Quarry, according to a report commissioned by AES.
The company Heidelberg Materials uses the quarry to create cement and other construction materials. Once contaminated water from AES flows into the quarry, workers pump the water out of the area and into the White River in order to continue working, according to the report.
Heidelberg Materials did not immediately respond to a Mirror Indy request for comment.
The Hoosier Environmental Council has spent years advocating for AES to adequately address the contamination without leaving residents susceptible to health issues.
Indra Frank, a coal ash advisor with the nonprofit group, reviewed AES’ August report. No matter what steps AES chooses to take, Frank said residents might have to foot some of the bill for preventing contamination on the south side.
Harding Street Corrective Measures Assessment Meeting
🗓️ 5:30-7:30 p.m. Sept. 16
📍 Garfield Park, 2345 Pagoda Drive
💬 Provide online feedback Sept. 16-Oct. 16. Learn more.
“Unfortunately, the Indiana General Assembly passed laws just in the last few years that made it easier for the utilities to charge this kind of thing to the customers,” Frank told Mirror Indy.
This could be in addition to rate increases that were proposed this summer. Residents already fear even more hikes could be implemented in response to a proposed Google data center.
Now community members can provide public input on Tuesday, Sept. 16, about ways to correct the contamination. An AES spokesperson didn’t tell Mirror Indy when a final decision will be made.
How did we get here?
For nearly 60 years, AES’ Harding Street Station created electricity by using coal-fired generators. But those units would also produce coal ash, which is waste that contains harmful chemicals such as arsenic, lithium and molybdenum.
That’s according to an updated corrective measures assessment, which was produced last month by the Cleveland-based environmental and engineering consulting firm Haley & Aldrich, Inc.
Those toxins can lead to vomiting, organ damage, cancer and other health conditions.
The Harding Street facility switched to natural gas generators in 2016, roughly a year after federal regulations outlined rules for proper coal ash disposal. AES released a disposal plan in 2016 and a federally required corrective measures assessment in 2019.
But Frank said AES still hasn’t implemented any mitigation efforts to prevent coal ash from seeping into the groundwater and contaminating the state’s largest waterway, the White River.
AES did not respond to a Mirror Indy question about that.
What are our options?
The corrective measures assessment is a document that lists contamination levels and recommends different ways AES can reduce them.
Frank, who reviewed the 700-page report on behalf of the Hoosier Environmental Council, spoke to Mirror Indy and paraphrased some of the mitigation options.
Option: Remove all of the coal ash and take it to an unspecified landfill.
“It would mean transporting the coal ash, which is a fairly expensive thing to do,” Frank said. “So even though that option of removing all the ash is there, I don’t think that that’s what they’re going to choose. I’d be very surprised if that’s what they chose.”
Mirror Indy asked AES to provide cost estimates for each option.
“None of these mitigation options have costs associated with them because by law, we cannot consider costs while deciding on a mitigation option,” Mallory Duncan, AES communications director, told Mirror Indy in an email.
Frank said the Hoosier Environmental Council worked with a different engineer, who suggested creating a landfill at the Harding Street Station that’s as far away from the river as possible, and then placing a liner at the bottom of the pit before consolidating the coal ash into one location and placing a cap on top.
The AES report, though, doesn’t recommend an onsite landfill due to “infrastructure configuration and geospatial disposition of the affected groundwater.”
Other options include leaving the coal ash at the Harding Street Station and using different techniques to prevent coal ash from coming in contact with water.
Option: Construct a slurry wall, an underground wall that would create a barrier between the coal ash and ground water.
If AES does not pursue the landfill options, then the Hoosier Environmental Council would prefer this one.
“Of the options that they’ve listed, I think that would probably give us the best groundwater protection,” Frank said.
Option: Build a cap over the ash ponds and let the contamination dissipate over time.
“I don’t think that’s a very good option.” Frank said. “Even if you build a cap over the top of the ash, you’ll probably still see groundwater contamination.”
Option: Inject a cement-like substance into the bottom of the coal ash to solidify it.
“I’ve talked to an engineer who said that, well, yeah, that would, it would reduce the groundwater contamination, but it wouldn’t completely solve it,” Frank said.
Option: Pump up the contaminated groundwater, treat it and dispose of it.
“They don’t specify how they would treat it or how they would dispose of it,” Frank said, “and I’m a little worried that what they would do is dispose of it by just pumping it into the White River.”
Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.
Mirror Indy reporter Elizabeth Gabriel covers the south side of Marion County. Contact her at elizabeth.gabriel@mirrorindy.org. Follow her on X at @_elizabethgabs.
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