Case No: Indiana Office of Environmental Adjudication (OEA) No. 23-W-J-5247
The Eagle Valley Generating Station in Martinsville is one of many former coal-fired power plants in Indiana that has leaking, unlined waste impoundments or “ponds” with millions of tons of coal combustion waste or “coal ash” dumped there over decades. Eagle Valley’s coal ash ponds are carved deep into the floodplain and bank of the West Fork of the White River and have long been leaching hazardous chemicals and heavy metals into the underlying aquifer. On at least two occasions over the years, coal ash has overflowed from the waste ponds and spilled directly into the White River, killing fish.
Under the federal coal ash rule promulgated by the US EPA in 2015, this leaching and spilling must stop. Eagle Valley’s owner, AES Indiana, must take corrective measures to stop the ongoing coal ash contamination of groundwater and prevent releases to the river. But remarkably, AES’ plan for doing so is to leave the dumped coal ash sitting in the river’s floodplain forever while claiming that the ongoing contamination of groundwater will be “hydraulically contained” as part of a corrective measure. It turns out that AES’s plan is far from a corrective measure and is, instead, a scheme to continue hydraulically pumping and dumping coal ash-contaminated groundwater into the river under the guise of a Clean Water Act permit. What’s worse, Indiana’s environmental agency, IDEM, is allowing this to occur.
In March of 2023, IDEM renewed Eagle Valley’s Clean Water Act permit with provisions that allow the utility to continuously pump groundwater contaminated with coal ash, use it for processing and cooling water in the plant, and then discharge the contaminated groundwater as untreated wastewater, directly into the White River. In effect, IDEM’s permit legitimizes AES’ claim that it is complying with the federal coal rule by “hydraulically containing” the contaminated groundwater under an “approved” CWA permit. To address this dangerous shell game, CLC is representing the Hoosier Environmental Council (HEC) in an administrative appeal of the permit for containing provisions that violate both the CWA and EPA’s coal ash rule. We are also monitoring IDEM’s review of AES’ proposed closure and corrective measures plans—and if IDEM approves those plans without putting an end to AES’ “hydraulic pump and dump” scheme, we will pursue legal action on that front as well.
Current status: We filed suit in Morgan County Circuit Court to challenge a controversial decision by the Indiana Office of Administrative Law Proceedings (OALP). Despite the evidence presented, OALP upheld IDEM’s permit—and, alarmingly, ruled that neither HEC nor its members living in Martinsville had the legal standing to challenge the decision.
In response, HEC and CLC are seeking judicial review, urging the Morgan County Circuit Court to reverse OALP’s ruling and affirm the rights of Indiana residents to challenge agency decisions that directly affect their health and environment.
Court Documents
