I haven’t seen anything about this, except for this, until now and according to the reports, it’s been “a thing” for a little while.
The media in America are conservatively owned, despite all the conservative hoo-ha about the non-existent “liberal media,” so things like this get professionally swept under the rug and covered over by the news cycle and fluffy, over-produced crap that defines American media in general and television news in particular.
A coalition of environmental groups are alleging that a large power company is using a fake farm in part of a shell game to hide their pollution and pretend to dispose of/treat it to circumvent laws and regulations and stuff like that.
I am a liberal and “mistrustful” of powerful corporations, power (oil, coal, electrical, nuclear) companies in particular. These are among the most powerful people/corporate entities who whine and wail about “regulations” eating into profits, taking caviar and Cuban cigars out of the mouths of their kids. But then they are all miffed and indignant when those in the know lambaste them for profits over people’s lives.
This situation, while likely bordering on “evil,” shows some real creativity:
In the lawsuit, filed Monday in the United States District Court for the District of Utah, the plaintiffs allege that the Huntington Power Plant has been contaminating the local environment for decades due to improper disposal of its coal ash and other pollutants created when coal is burned for power. Since 1973, the plant has used onsite, unlined landfills to dispose of coal ash and other pollutants. According to Webster, the Huntington plant began intercepting water from two streams that drain the coal ash landfills in 2007. That water was then diverted to a holding pond used to irrigate the nearby research farm. By diverting the contaminated water from the landfill into a holding pond, Webster said that the power plant is able to side-step the need for permits and pollution treatment required by the Clean Water Act, since Huntington Creek — into which the streams used to flow — is listed as an impaired waterway.
A shell game. We’ll catch this stuff here and then transport it over there, then run down the field, take a shower and call it research on farming.
Another fine scam, nobody is the wiser.
However…
... diverting the contaminated water to a holding pond, and then applying it to a research field, might not actually keep the water out of Huntington Creek. According to a 2003 report prepared by PacifiCorp, groundwater flows from the land located beneath the farm, raising concerns that contaminated water sprayed on the farm might eventually make its way to the creek. According to PacifiCorp’s own testing, samples from groundwater near the two unlined landfills as well as the research farm show elevated levels of contaminants like mercury and boron.
And of course, the power company has a nicely polished halo and hurt innocent look and a team of lawyers saying they ain’t done nary a thing incorrectly. They’s been all good the whole time. Honest.
The company will fight the lawsuit tooth and nail or maybe just toss a load of cash to get it tossed out. That’s what they do. They often get away with it. It’s why I don’t trust them.
In the meantime, Webster said, the Huntington Power Plant offers an interesting glimpse into a debate that is set to take place at coal-fired power plants nationwide. In 2014, the EPA released its first-ever regulations on coal ash, mandating that plants dispose of coal ash in lined pits, and that all old, unlined pits be cleaned up if they are found to be polluting the area. Traditionally, power companies have disposed of coal ash by dumping it into ditches or pits, and filling those pits with water -- a type of disposal known as a wet surface impoundment. But Webster says that the Huntington plant is proof that even if coal ash isn't stored in wet impoundments, like ditches or lagoons, it can still pose a pollution threat.
Gol-dang reggalations always bein a fly in the erntment, costin them their money they cheated to get … so finding ways to skirt the regulations are the first order of business.
Coal ash is a nasty pollutant, full of heavy metals, as noted above—mercury and other metals that can leach out when in contact with water. Aside from storing in those pits or in some dry manner, it’s a problem. The waterways they are abusing are already considered compromised.
This three-card monte of a scam is leaving everybody still at risk of nasty pollution, and the company is fighting efforts to make things less dangerous.
There were no reported proper or ideal solutions to coal ash pollution, though a “simple” fix—for the long run—would be to … mmmm … I don’t know ... to use less coal? Develop even more alternative energy?
Liberals would say that, huh?
Coal is a dead end.