Environmental groups are blasting City Water Light and Power’s petition to leave its coal ash ponds in place, simply capping them rather than moving the contaminants they contain to a landfill.
The utility made its formal application for a permit to cap the ponds in a filing this week to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. CWLP says capping in place is safe… and far less expensive that removing years of coal ash and transporting it by truck to a landfill capable of handling the toxic substance.
But groups like the Sierra Club and the Springfield NAACP say leaving the ponds in place poses a severe risk of contamination to groundwater and jeopardizes public health.
