Coal ash by Illinois’ only national scenic river to be removed

More than a half century’s worth of toxic coal ash will be excavated from the flood plain of Illinois’ only national scenic river as part of a deal announced Thursday that could establish a precedent for other hazardous waste dumps throughout the state.

Under a legal settlement brokered by environmental lawyers and Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office, Texas-based Vistra will drain pits of water-soaked coal ash along the Middle Fork of the Vermilion River, about 120 miles south of Chicago. The company also will dig a trench to collect contaminated groundwater and monitor the fast-eroding riverbank after major storms.

Within the next three years, Vistra is required to apply for a permit to build a landfill nearby to safely dispose of enough coal ash from the former Vermilion Power Station to fill the Empire State Building nearly two and a half times.

Vistra previously had sought permission to cap the coal ash and leave it behind a wall of rocks nearly six football fields long….