ISU will revisit risks of Waterloo coal ash dump

Iowa State University says it is confident that the way it disposes of its coal ash is safe, but it will meet with the owner of its dump site later this month to discuss potential risks to public health.

Iowa State University's coal power plant in Ames.

The school disposes of its coal ash in the Waterloo South Quarry, one of four unlined, unmonitored dump sites around Iowa that have received a waiver from the state allowing it to accept coal ash as fill. In other states, these types of dumps have posed huge public health problems due to toxins like arsenic, mercury and boron leaching into groundwater.

Jeffrey Witt, assistant director of utilities for Iowa State University, said since new information has come to light, “it was time to touch base again” with the owners of the quarry, Basic Materials Corp. Witt is referring to a 2002 report by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released last month showing a cancer risk higher than usually regarded as safe by current federal regulations for residents living near unlined landfills containing coal ash and coal refuse.

The University of Iowa, which also disposes of its coal ash in the Waterloo quarry and helped derail tougher state regulations last year, said it was exploring alternative disposal sites due to the new information.

“We have not seen the EPA report, but we have seen the summary from the two environmental groups that released it,” Witt said. “All I can tell you right now is I’m not familiar with all the data. These regulations are in the process of being reviewed at this time, and if the EPA and [Iowa Department of Natural Resources] determine we need to do something different, certainly we will do so.”

Witt said he wants to discuss the EPA report with Basic Materials and ensure the school is not contributing to any public health risk.

As the Iowa Independent reported in March, the state DNR was in the middle of drafting stricter rules on coal ash disposal when pressure from disposal-site owners and coal ash producers stalled the effort. When the EPA announced it was looking into federal regulations, the DNR abandoned the rulemaking process.

Iowa State is in the third year of a five-year contract with the Waterloo quarry owners. Previously, the school dumped its coal ash in the Violet M. Meier Gravel Pit in nearby Boone, but that site had its waiver revoked due to issues with coal dust.

The school produces 30,000 tons of coal ash per year and spent approximately $725,000 for disposal in 2008. In a letter to the DNR, the University of Iowa estimated disposal costs could more than double if the state mandated that sites install liners and groundwater monitoring equipment. Witt said the cost of disposal would surely increase if tougher regulations were instituted, but he does not know how drastic those increases would be.

After his meeting later this month with Basic Materials Corp., and after fully reviewing the EPA report, if it is determined there is a problem with how the school disposes of ash, Witt said his department will prepare a risk assessment for Iowa State administration weighing “the ramifications of not doing anything different compared to the ramifications of changing.”

“But right now, we are in complete compliance with state rules regulating coal ash disposal,” he said.

“The chemistry of the soil and the fact that it is a limestone quarry greatly reduces the possibility of leaching. I’m confident what we are doing is safe, but if that changes or regulations change, Iowa State will change as well.”