Story Published:
Feb 26, 2010 at 7:30 PM MST
Story Updated:
Feb 26, 2010 at 11:10 PM MST
BILLINGS - Nearly two years ago, dozens of Colstrip residents settled a lawsuit against the owners of Colstrip's Steam Electric Station to the tune of $25 million dollars. That was after coal ash contaminated well water near the plant.
Policy makers are considering regulating coal ash as a hazardous material, as violations continue to pour in across the country. So, KULR-8 found out how one local community approaches this gray area.
Hardin's dumpsite was licensed in 2005, and operators and regulators alike said residents there have little to fear. "We're permitted for whatever we can get," said Hardin Public Works Director Larry Vandersloot.
Coal ash, or fly ash, is a waste product created by the combustion of coal. Different coals produce different toxins, including arsenic, cadmium, selenium, mercury and lead.
"The first concern would be, economically, how quickly is this waste causing the landfill to fill up" said Montana Environmental Information Center's Director Anne Hedges.
Vandersloot said they accept 100,000 tons of coal ash from Colorado Energy every year, "We get pretty good revenues." He expects their current dumpsite to fill up in 15 years, 1.5 million tons down the road. When it does he said they'll have a similar site ready for another 15 years.
Ground water is often a concern when dealing with coal ash, but Hardin regulators and operators said that's not the case here. "Our landfill inspections are coming in excellent," said Vandersloot.
Richard Thompson, a supervisor with the Department of Environmental Quality agreed, "Hardin has been one of those facilities that seemingly are in compliance all the time."
As EPA emissions standards have become stricter over the years, toxins that used to go into the air are now going into landfills. "The waste stream from these coal plants has only gotten more dangerous over the past 30 years because we've managed to clean up the stack," said Hedges.
Vandersloot said that's of far greater concern for those with slurry ponds. "The ash from Tennessee and the ash from Colstrip is coming out in liquid form," he said, "where this is a dry product that's coming out, chances of the cell breaking and flooding someone out with ash is probably really unlikely."
But, some think the government should step up standards. "It's inexcusable that a waste stream that is the second largest waste stream in the us, is unregulated," said Hedges, "it has caused economic and public health hardship all over the country."
As President Obama and other policy makers continue to mull over the issue, coal ash's regulatory status may be up in the air.
In recent years, coal ash has been recycled into concrete and other materials. Research by the Electric Power Research Institute suggests recycling ash has saved 32 billion gallons of oil in energy annually.
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