E.ON’s Cane Run Power Station has applied for a Section 404 permit through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to add a 60-acre coal combustion waste (CCW) landfill adjacent to the power plant.
The current CCW pond on-site at the Cane Run Power Station is one of 44 classified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as “high hazard” – meaning that a spill would result in significant damage or loss of life.
CCW is the solid waste left over from burning coal. CCW is a combination of waste from the coal plant’s air filters and the residue from coal boilers. The ashy part of the waste, called coal ash, contains concentrated pollutants, including many toxins known to cause cancer in humans.
The proposed permit would:
* Allow 5.7 million cubic yards of CCW, which contains toxins known to be hazardous to human health, to be dumped on site. The U.S. EPA states that 1 in 50 adults and 1 in 100 children that live near CCW storage sites are at risk of developing cancer
* Allow more than 3,000 feet of ephemeral and intermittent streams and 8 wetland areas to be filled
* Allow use of an inferior containment liner that deteriorate over time, likely resulting in toxic chemicals leaching into groundwater
* Ignore restoration requirements for 5 of the wetlands and require only minimal restoration for the other 3
* Allow this waste to be dumped on land located at the end of the Ohio River floodwall, clearly in the river’s flood plain putting residents downstream at risk
--Find out more about the impacts coal ash can have on your community and health here.
--Louisville District Corps of Engineers Public Notice No. LRL-2010-35 is available for viewing here.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
LG&E Seeking Expanded Coal Ash Pond at Cane Run
The following was copied from an environmental activist's facebook page. It is very real and is eye-opening stuff. Although the deadline for action has passed, please familiarize yourself with this issue and take a stand when you can against any more of these fragile holding ponds. Coal ash exposure puts our health at risk. The EPA estimates that up to 1 in 50 nearby residents could get cancer from exposure to contaminants in poorly stored coal ash. Other health effects may include damage to vital organs and the central nervous system, especially in children.
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this definitely is not good for southwest louisville...its like they are trying to make it the dump station..and no one wants to live around that...it effects our moods drastically..not only our health.
ReplyDeleteIt is clear that LG&E does not have any concern for the health of our citizens. This is another slap in the face to the residents of the south end.
ReplyDeleteThis is a little misleading, actually I live right across the street from the plant, there is already a huge dry landfill that stands huge, mega stories to the left, near the cemetery, it is about filled to capacity, then they have a coal ash pond that is at high capacity and is high risk which means if it breaches, and I'm at home, very good likelihood that my family is going to die. No contigency plan, at least that Mr. Puckett or the Corp of Engineers can tell me about. With all of this, they now want a permit to build another dry landfill megastories high on the right side. When will this nonsence end?
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