Indianapolis Power & Light (IPL) is seeking a permit from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to fill the floodway of Highland Creek and Lick Creek at its S. Harding Street power plant property. Thus far, the Hoosier Environmental Council, McANA, and the Decatur Township Civic Council are opposing the proposal.

The fill they want to use is coal fly ash; the remnant of their coal burning operation. IPL is content to say it is ‘just like soil’ and not mention that this ash is loaded with heavy metals like arsenic, lead, mercury, cadmium and chromium. They propose to fill about 4.5 acres at least 10 feet deep, using about 40,000 tons of fly ash, and covering it all with 8 inches of soil so it doesn’t fly away.

Dwayne Burke, Director of Environmental Affairs for IPL, testified at the DNR hearing on October 5th, that this is part of a $225 million project to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 95% and sulfur dioxide emissions by 90%. We applaud their efforts, even if they have been forced to take these steps by the EPA. Mr. Burke referred to the fill project as ‘beneficial’, a word that must have a legal definition in this context. As for the normal English usage: it might be ‘beneficial’ to IPL, but it most certainly is NOT beneficial to any resident of nearby Frog Holler, any customer of the Indianapolis Water Company, and ultimately, any of IPL’s rate payers.

Because of the space limitations here, let me just make three quick points about the coal fly ash: the heavy metal contaminants do not degrade, they are highly toxic, and they are known to leach into water systems.

These heavy metals are atoms and are not degradable by any force less than that generated by a black hole. When the sun burns out, they will still be intact and toxic.

These heavy metals accumulate in our bodies, reaching higher concentrations than might be suggested from their levels in the environment. The Centers for Disease Control’s 2003 ‘Top 20 Hazardous Substances’ is a prioritized list of substances that pose the greatest risk to human health in the nation’s Superfund cleanup sites. Number 1 is arsenic, 2 : lead, 3 : mercury, 7 : cadmium, and 17 : chromium — all found in relevant concentrations in coal fly ash. They cause developmental and neurological damage, cancer, and reproductive problems, among other maladies.

A study by Cherry, Currie, and Soucek (Virginia Tech, 2000) determined that “astonishing” levels of heavy metals are leached from similar fill sites into nearby water systems. They state “The toxic ramifications of heavy metal contamination from CCW [coal combustion wastes] are immense.” A study for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation concluded that insufficient information was available on the environmental effects of using concrete made with coal fly ash for their freeways. That coal fly ash would be bound up in CONCRETE !. They decided that its use would expose Minnesotans to unpredictable levels of legal liability to allow its use in their state.

Highland and Lick Creeks flow into the nearby White River. Frog Holler neighbors are on wells. The fill site is about a mile from the 5-year flow contour of the Perry Township Aquifer that supplies much of Central Indiana with drinking water. The risk is not justified. IPL can spend a little more money and NOT use coal fly ash as the fill material for its project. Our community deserves nothing less.