SPRINGFIELD, Ill (WAND)- Three local groups have filed a complaint with the Illinois Pollution Control Board against CWLP.
Prairie Rivers Network, Springfield Branch of the NAACP and the Sangamon Valley Group of the Sierra Club filed the complaint over the Dallman Coal Plant for over 600 cases of self-reported groundwater violations since 2010.
"We want to hold them accountable in operating in regards to human beings and human rights, and the impact that this is having on pollution in Springfield and the surrounding areas."
If the water of any Springfield resident was being knowingly contaminated we would not expect that person to wait years for a solution and we’ve already waited too long.
The complaint says coal ash, a byproduct from coal power plants, is seeping into ground waters, violating standards set by state and federal regulations.
It just sits directly on the ground, meaning it can saturate the ash and contaminates from the ash can spread into the ground water." said Andrew Rehn, Water Resources Engineer at Prairie Rivers Network.
"Last November, ground water quality measurements in the coal ash ponds found that arsenic at over 20 times higher than standards for potable water. They found boron at 9 times the standard, it found Iron at 12 and it found manganese at 54 times the standard."
Impose the civil penalties associated with the violation.