"Army Corps Considering Coal Ash To Fix Levees"

"ST. LOUIS — The Army Corps of Engineers wants to use ash cast off from coal-fired electrical generation to shore up dozens of miles of Mississippi River levees, drawing fire from environmentalists worried that heavy metals from the filler might make their way into the river.

The corps announced the plan last month, touting the injection of a slurry of water, coal ash and lime into 25 miles of slide-prone levees in 200-mile stretch of the river from Alton, Ill., near St. Louis to tiny Gale on southern Illinois' tip as the cheapest, longest-lasting fix among several options it weighed.

A public hearing on the matter, scheduled Thursday in St. Louis, is certain to elicit questions from environmentalists who consider the use of coal ash -- also known as fly ash -- a bad idea despite corps assurances that it has been used trouble-free on levees near Memphis for more than a decade."

Jim Suhr reports for the Associated Press July 13, 2010.

SEE ALSO:

"EPA Suspends Coal Ash Promotion Program" (Press Release of July 7, 2010, from Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility)