NEW ALBANY, Ind. (AP) — A southern Indiana county that set aside 15,000 tons of coal ash for road projects must pay $50,000 to clean up ash contaminated with heavy metals and chemicals.
The Courier Journal reports that coal ash must be cleaned up at Floyd County’s Georgetown work yards and at a Harrison County farm.
Floyd County was told to get rid of a coal ash stockpile because black residue washed off the pile and into a creek during rains, said former highway superintendent Ron Quakenbush.
Federal regulators imposed stricter safety rules in recent years for ash ponds at coal-fired power plants and at landfills, which must be lined to accept the waste. Regulators recommend that communities use rock salt to melt roads covered in ice or snow.
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The farm has about 4,500 tons of ash. Excavation would involve digging 4 feet deep in a 22,000-square-foot area and could cost up to $20,000. Officials aren’t certain about the cost of the Georgetown excavation, which would remove 15,000 tons over 151,000 square feet, said Don Lopp, Floyd’s director of operations.
The removal will be funded with money from the sale of surplus highway equipment, Lopp said. This year’s sale raised $90,000, which typically would be set aside for highway expenses.
State and federal rules allow ash to be spread in limited quantities on farm fields and for road building, said Brady Hagerty, a spokesman for the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.