Wis utility: Lake debris likely included coal ash

OAK CREEK, Wis. (AP) — The debris that swept into Lake Michigan this week when a section of cliff gave way near a Wisconsin power plant likely contains coal ash, a utility spokesman said Tuesday, a revelation that environmentalists used to strengthen their calls for tighter coal-ash regulation.

Coal ash contains arsenic, selenium, lead and mercury in low concentrations. But like many other types of energy waste — such as drilling muds — it's not classified as hazardous under waste laws.

Environmental groups have been pushing for stronger regulations of coal ash, particularly after a 2008 spill in Kingston, Tenn. A disposal pond at a power plant there gave out, flooding hundreds of acres of land, damaging homes and killing fish in nearby rivers.

On Tuesday the Sierra Club said the Wisconsin spill should prompt Congress to stop interfering with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's efforts to strengthen coal-ash regulations.

"This spill in the Great Lakes is a tragic reminder of why the status quo is not good enough," said Mary Anne Hitt, a Sierra Club director, in a statement. "... Congress needs to back off and allow the EPA to finalize strong protections."

Congressional Republicans favor shifting authority away from the EPA. Last month House Republicans pushed through legislation that gives states the power to regulate coal ash from power plants as if it were municipal garbage. The move would pre-empt pending federal regulations that could be much tougher.

The coal-ash bill is unlikely to be considered in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

The Wisconsin spill happened Monday morning when a section of cliff about the size of a football field gave way at We Energies' coal-fired power plant in southeastern Wisconsin. The collapse created a mudslide that sent a pickup truck and other equipment tumbling into Lake Michigan and swept several construction trailers toward the beach. No one was hurt.

Based on records of land use in the area, We Energies officials suspect that the debris included coal ash, utility spokeswoman Cathy Schulze said. She added that she didn't immediately have details on how much coal ash may have spilled.

Any coal ash in that area was probably discarded there more than 50 years ago, before the state discontinued the practice, We Energies spokesman Brian Manthey said.

"Today we recycle 100 percent of our coal dust," he said.

The Lake Michigan debris also included an unknown quantity of fuel, whether gasoline, diesel fuel or hydraulic fluid from the submerged vehicle, authorities said Monday.

Manthey said a boom had been placed in the water Tuesday to contain the fluid, and a second was being readied.

He also said it was too early to say how much the cleanup would cost and whether utility customers could see higher rates as a result.

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Dinesh Ramde can be reached at dramde(at)ap.org.