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==Coal Waste==
The 2011 report, [http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/StateofFailure.pdf "State of Failure: How
States
Fail
to
Protect
Our
Health
and
Drinking
Water
from
Toxic
Coal
Ash"] by Earthjustice and Appalachian Mountain Advocates, looked at EPA data and found that state regulations are often inadequate for protecting public health. Illinois ranks first in the number of coal ash ponds with 83, yet only about a third of the ponds are lined or monitored.
===June 2010: Corps wants to use coal ash for levee construction in IL===
In June 2010, environmental groups began lining up to protest U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to use [[coal ash]] to fortify flood-protection levees on both sides of the Mississippi River between Alton and Gale, in Illinois' southern tip. Coal ash, also known as [[fly ash]], is the residue from coal combustion at power plants. It contains many types of toxins such as [[heavy metals and coal|arsenic]] and [[mercury and coal|mercury]], and it has been closely linked to cancer, according to a wide range of studies. President of the American Bottoms Conservancy Kathy Andria said coal ash is highly unstable and degrades in the presence of water, making it a bad choice for levee construction. The corps, however, takes a different view regarding coal ash, highlighting its uses - such as road construction and cement manufacture - within a recent environmental assessment.<ref name="bnd">Mike Fitzgerald, [http://www.bnd.com/2010/06/27/1309411/levee-repair-plan-under-fire-from.html#ixzz0s3oZl8FW "Levee repair plan under fire from environmentalists"] bnd.com, June 27, 2010.</ref>
