Duke Energy continues efforts to close ash ponds

Mar. 15—Duke Energy continues efforts to close coal ash ponds, or basins, at its former Wabash River Generating Station along the Wabash River, according to a utility spokeswoman.

The work, which began in 2020, is estimated to be completed by late 2028, but it depends on factors such as weather conditions, said Angeline Protogere of Duke Energy. The closure plans involve 7.3 million cubic yards of coal ash, she said.

In January, Duke applied for permits from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, which has jurisdiction under the state Flood Control Act. The basins are along the Wabash River.

The two requested permits are for projects in the floodway, so they require a permit from DNR, said Marty Benson, DNR spokesman.

"These are new applications, but DNR has reviewed the project before," he said. Closure of the north ash pond was previously approved with a permit in May 2020 and a request to renew that permit was granted in April 2022; that approval expires May 26.

The current application is still under review.

Closure of the south ash pond was previously approved with a permit in August 2020 and a request to renew it was granted in April 2022; that approval expires August 26. The application is still under review, Benson said.

Regulation of coal or fly ash falls under the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.

When coal is burned, it creates coal combustion products, including fly ash, a fine-grained powdery material, and bottom ash, which is a coarser, granular material collected from the bottom of coal-fired boilers.

While the EPA does not consider coal ash a hazardous material, environmentalists point out it contains cancer-causing substances such as arsenic and chromium.

The Hoosier Environmental Council has expressed concerns in the past and continues to have concerns about closure of coal ash ponds in a floodway, said Indra Frank, the organization's environmental health and water policy director.

"It's the same concern we've had all along; flood plain and floodways are no place for permanent storage of coal ash," she said. "As the river floods, it can potentially erode into that structure and cause a spill of the coal ash."

Another concern, Frank said, is that when coal ash gets wet, it contaminates water with heavy metals.

"Where they are leaving this ash, the groundwater comes up high enough it has the potential to come into contact with the coal ash even after they are done with this closure plan," Frank said.

According to Protogere, Duke has been closing its coal ash basins in compliance with environmental regulations and plans approved by IDEM, "and these are permits we needed from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources to do the work at Wabash River Station."

The utility is closing coal ash basins across its system in a way that is protective of the environment, she said.

Duke closed the Wabash River Generation Station in 2016 and initiated the basin closure process in 2019.

The work is focusing on consolidating ash from several basins on the south part of the property into a lined basin, also on the south side of the property.

Once the ash is consolidated it will be capped with an engineered cover, which includes a geosynthetic membrane topped by soil and vegetation, Protogere said.

There is a smaller concentration of ash on the north portion of the property, and it will also be capped in place with a geosynthetic membrane and covered with soil and vegetation.

All closure plans were approved by IDEM, which has ongoing oversight, Protogere said.

Duke has installed groundwater monitoring wells near the basins, and the wells will be monitored for at least 30 years after closure is complete.

Results will be reported to state environmental regulators and the data publicly available, Protogere said.

"We're required to meet groundwater quality standards regardless of which closure method is selected," Protogere said.

According to Barry Sneed of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, "Final approval is pending additional IDEM review of submitted plans and/or further action by the facility."

Sue Loughlin can be reached at 812-231-4235 or at sue.loughlin@tribstar.com. Follow Sue on X at @TribStarSue.