The Bay City Times has an interesting story about power plant ash piles at a Consumers Energy coal plant near Saginaw Bay.  Excerpt and link:

Two massive ash landfills that hold the concentrated residue of coal burned at a power plant in Bay County have been leaking toxics to the Saginaw Bay for years.

The Lone Tree Council, a Bay City area environmental group, uncovered the issue while combing through state records on plans for a new 800-megawatt power plant at the Consumers Energy Karn-Weadock facility in Hampton Township.

The group, along with the newly formed Citizens Exploring Clean Energy, is calling for the state Department of Environmental Quality to hold a public meeting to discuss the leakage and related issues with residents.

State regulators acknowledge the landfills have been discharging toxics like arsenic, boron and lithium in excess of state standards meant to protect aquatic organisms, drinking water and public health.

Officials with the utility say they’re spending $3 million to install a slurry wall, keyed into underlying clay, to stop a 292-acre Weadock ash landfill from leaking. The company has similar plans to fix a 172-acre Karn ash landfill in coming years.

“We believe we have a good story to tell in that we’ve taken some proactive measures to address this situation,” said Farr.

The company also is spending another $49 million to install a new dry system to dispose of its ash using air and pipes. The residue is now moved through pipes using water.

Full story:

http://blog.mlive.com/bctimes/2008/10/ash_landfills_at_consumers_ene.html

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