Three environmental groups have written a report saying a Tompkins County coal-ash landfill is contaminating groundwater and Cayuga Lake. Environmental Integrity Project, Earthjustice and the Sierra Club have listed 39 coal-ash landfill sites in 21 states that they say are being overlooked by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. One is the AES Cayuga plant in Lansing that burns coal...
Boaters cruise down Cayuga Lake near Seneca Falls on July 5. Environmental groups say a Tompkins County coal-ash landfill is contaminating the lake.Three environmental groups have written a report saying a Tompkins County coal-ash landfill is contaminating groundwater and Cayuga Lake.
Environmental Integrity Project, Earthjustice and the Sierra Club have listed 39 coal-ash landfill sites in 21 states that they say are being overlooked by the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
One is the AES Cayuga plant in Lansing that burns coal to generate power.
Kimberly Wilson, of the Environmental Integrity Project, based in Washington, D.C., said the data the group used for its report came from the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
Yancey Roy, speaking for the DEC, said the agency is reviewing the report, but “at first blush, we do have some concerns about the accuracy of some of the details.
“For instance, in regards to AES Cayuga, the report repeatedly refers to a leachate pond and states that leachate discharges into the lake,” Roy said. “In fact, leachate is collected in a retention pond where it is mixed with groundwater and storm water before it is discharged. And while the leachate has high levels of various materials, that’s not true of the combined water — which must be sampled before it is discharged.”
He said AES Cayuga has collected no violations against it concerning discharge from its site.
AES Cayuga has 35 of its own wells on its site to monitor leachate from the landfill, Wilson said. Tests show the water in these wells contain chemicals from the landfill, she said.
Jerry Goodenough, plant manager at AES Cayuga, would not comment on specifics of the report. He said AES is “formulating a comment” about the report, which would come from its corporate office in Arlington, Va. A corporate spokeswoman could not be reached for comment.
The report states chemicals such as arsenic, cadmium and selenium are found in groundwater near the plant. Wilson said the chemicals are getting into Cayuga Lake, a source of drinking water for some communities and a favorite recreational and fishing spot in Central New York.
It says these chemicals could cause harm to nearby residents.
“There are homes and farms near the AES Ash Disposal Facility” many within a half-mile of the landfill property, it says. “Many of the homes near the AES site draw water from wells, and nearby homes have drinking water wells drilled 60 to 125 feet deep.”
Craig Schutt, conservation district manager of the Tompkins County Soil and Water Conservation District, said no one has complained to his agency about their well water testing positive for chemicals. He said his agency would be the first to hear of any contaminated wells.
“We also have a county water resources council and this isn’t on (its) radar either,” Schutt said.
Ron Podolak, executive director of the Cayuga County Soil and Water Conservation District, has neither heard about the study nor reports well-water problems in southern Cayuga County.
The environmental groups fault state agencies for not making the power companies involved clean up the landfill contamination.