"Groups Seek Stronger Safeguards In Illinois Coal Ash Rules"

"The Vermilion Middle Fork is a swift-flowing river winding through lush forests, rolling prairie and craggy cliffs in central Illinois. Designated as one of the country’s “National Scenic Rivers,” it is subject to federal and state protections, popular with paddlers and home to wildlife including 24 endangered or threatened species.

But the river’s banks butt up against three massive pits filled with toxic coal ash produced over five decades by the Vermilion coal-fired power plant, which closed in 2011 and is still owned by the power company Dynegy. The pits hold more than 3.3 million cubic yards of coal ash, enough to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool more than 1,000 times.

In some spots, dark orange run-off drips into the Vermilion, as documented by canoeing environmental watchdogs who note that such iron-rich runoff is common from coal ash impoundments. The river’s banks also show obvious signs of erosion, and as the soft earth recedes it brings the river closer to the vast reserves of coal ash.

Local residents and environmental advocates fear that the Vermilion could become the site of a disaster akin to those in Kingston, Tennessee or the Dan River in North Carolina, where coal impoundments failed and inundated nearby waterways and towns with toxic sludge."

Kari Lydersen reports for Midwest Energy News June 7, 2016.