County soil and water district discusses AES coal ash pits

Keith Rhoades
·2 min read

During their meeting Wednesday night, members of the Morgan County Soil and Water Conservation District board received an update from chairman Doug Peine about the closure of a Duke Energy coal ash pond in southern Indiana.

Peine said the Hoosier Environmental Council filed a lawsuit over the closure of the ash pits at the Gallagher Power Plant in New Albany, Ind. along the Ohio River.

Indiana Supreme Court: Duke can't make customers pay $212 million to clean up coal ash.

That lawsuit was based on the lower level of the ash being below the water table. He said the council contended the current plan to close the pits was not going to work and Duke needed to remove the ash.

Peine said the council won its case, which means Duke will have to find another way to close the pits.

He said it was too soon to know how the lawsuit would impact other coal ash pits around the state, such as the one at the AES Indiana plant on Blue Bluff Road.

That old electric plant was demolished and AES Indiana planned to close the pits.

There have been concerns the pits are too close to the White River and could pose a hazard in the future.

In other business

Board members approved plans for this year's Morgan County Fair. They approved around $1,100 to purchase items to give out during the fair. They also approved sponsoring the annual Farmer's Breakfast at the fairgrounds on Aug. 2.

The board approved allowing office manager Lisa MacPhee work on the 2023 budget. Due to the economic conditions, they proposed a 10% increase in the budget for next year. Due to the agency moving to a new location sometime next year, the board wanted to have the funds to cover any unexpected expenses.

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The board asked MacPhee to begin work on planning the 2023 tree give away. The 2022 program was a success and they hope to build on it next year.

The next scheduled meeting of the Morgan County Soil and Water Conservation District board is set for 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 13, at the Morgan County Administration Building, 180 S. Main St., Martinsville.

This article originally appeared on The Reporter Times: AES Indiana coal ash pits discussed by Morgan County Soil and Water