Changes

In August 2010 a study released by the [[Environmental Integrity Project]], the [[Sierra Club]] and [[Earthjustice]] reported that Wisconsin, along with 34 states, had significant groundwater contamination from coal ash that was not regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The report, in an attempt to pressure the EPA to regulate coal ash, noted that most states do not monitor drinking water contamination levels near waste disposal sites.<ref>[http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/26/1793995/study-of-coal-ash-sites-finds.html "Study of coal ash sites finds extensive water contamination"] Renee Schoff, ''Miami Herald'', August 26, 2010.</ref> The report mentioned Wisconsin's [[Columbia Energy Center]] and [[Oak Creek Power Plant]] as two sites that have groundwater contamination due to coal ash waste.<ref>[http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9HRDN581.htm "Enviro groups: ND, SD coal ash polluting water"] Associated Press, August 24, 2010.</ref>

The study [http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/CoalAshChromeReport.pdf "EPA’s Blind Spot: Hexavalent Chromium in Coal Ash,"] released by EarthJustice and the Sierra Club in early February 2011, reported that the level of hexavalent [[Chromium|chromium]], a highly potent cancer-causing chemical, at a [[Coal ash|coal ash]] site associated with the Asheville Plant was 83 parts per billion.<ref name="blind spot">[http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/CoalAshChromeReport.pdf "EPA’s Blind Spot: Hexavalent Chromium in Coal Ash"] Earthjustice & Sierra Club, February 1, 2011.</ref> That level is 4,150 times as high as California's drinking water goal, and 66% above North Carolina's groundwater standard. In all, the study cited 29 sites in 17 states where hexavalent chromium contamination was found. The information was gathered from existing EPA data on coal ash as well as from studies by EarthJustice, the Environmental Integrity Project, and the Sierra Club.<ref>"Damage Case Report for Coal Compustion Wastes," August 2008</ref><ref>U.S. EPA Proposed Coal Ash Rule, 75 Fed. Reg. 35128</ref><ref>EarthJustice, Environmental Integrity Project, and Sierra Club, "In Harm's Way: Lack of Federal Coal Ash Regulations Endangers Americans and their Environment," August 2010</ref><ref>EarthJustice and Environmental Integrity Project, "Out of Control: Mounting Damages from Coal Ash Waste Sites," May 2010</ref> It included locations in Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Massachusetts, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virgina and Wisconsin. In Wisconsin, the Lemberber Landfill coal waste site and [[Dairyland Power Cooperative]]'s [[Stoneman Generating Station]]'s ash disposal pond was reported as having high levels of hexavalent chromium.<ref name="blind spot"/>