IDEM Opens Fly Ash Permit Modification For Public Comment

By Mike Perleberg File photo (Lawrenceburg, Ind.) – When dozens of concerned citizens appeared at the City of Lawrenceburg Common Council’s meeting on Monday night, many wondered how their voices might be heard by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. They now have that opportunity. IDEM is currently considering whether to grant a “minor modification” to a solid waste land disposal facility permit which was first granted to Tanners Creek Development, LLC. The company is an affiliate of Commercial Development Company, Inc., which in 2016 purchased the 725-acre property that was once home to the Tanners Creek Power Plant. The modification request by Tanners Creek Development seeks to allow the use of coal fly ash from out-of-state power plants to complete the filling of an ash landfill along the Ohio River. Fly ash contains toxic materials including mercury, cadmium and arsenic. Read more about the proposal and environmental and health concerns expressed by local citizens and elected officials here and here. IDEM could have made a decision on the permit modification last week, but Mayor Kelly Mollaun vocalized the city’s worries to agency officials during a face-to-face meeting in Indianapolis on March 1. Allowing public comment on minor modifications to such permits is not required. However, Lawrenceburg City Attorney Del Weldon tells Eagle Country 99.3 on Tuesday that the city has requested and received permission from IDEM for the general public to join in making public comments. Public comments concerning the IDEM permit modification on the out-of-state fly ash importation to Lawrenceburg can by done by email to JHALE@idem.IN.gov, or by mail to: John Hale, Indiana Department of Environmental Management, Office of Land Quality, Solid Waste Permits, IGCN 1101, 100 North Senate Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46204-2251. Also, public comments continue to be accepted through March 26 on Tanners Creek Development LLC’s application to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Louisville District concerning the river barge loading/unloading operation of barges that would bring the fly ash to Lawrenceburg from two power plants in Ohio. Details on submitting public comment for that permit can be found at http://www.lrl.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/Public-Notices/Article/1441217/lrl-2017-632/. Mayor Mollaun has also submitted the city's own written comment to both IDEM and the Corps of Engineers. “While we are strong supporters of the cleanup project for a potential fourth Indiana Port, we cannot allow the health of our citizens and the environment to be jeopardized and placed in harm’s way. We ask you to reject the proposed permit modification and prevent Tanners Creek Development and Dayton power from bringing their fly ash into Lawrenceburg,” Mollaun’s signed March 6 letter states. Weldon said Dearborn County, as well as the neighboring cities of Aurora and Greendale, may also send their own letters joining Lawrenceburg in opposition to the fly ash importation. Read the city’s full letter to IDEM and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers below or click here: RELATED STORIES: Citizens Air Worries About Fly Ash Shipped Into Lawrenceburg Toxic Fly Ash Could Be Shipped Into Lawrenceburg; Mayor Trying To Make A Stand Demolition, Decontamination Timeline Shortened At Former L’burg Power Plant Ports Of Indiana Enjoying Growth In 2017 Ports Of Indiana Enters $8M Purchase Agreement For Lawrenceburg Site IBJ: Governor Continues To Back Lawrenceburg River Port Official Release: Ports Of Indiana Identifies Former Lawrenceburg Coal Plant As Site For Future Port Analysis A Year After Closing, Tanners Creek Plant’s Fate Undecided