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In response, local resident Gary Kuklish circulated petitions signed by 93 La Belle-area residents that he sent to the state Department of Environmental Protection to seek an investigation and force the owner to clean up the process. DEP officials investigated and ordered the company to dampen roads to reduce [[coal dust]]. But Mr. Kuklish believes DEP's actions, to date, have been insufficient to correct the problems and protect the public. In October 2010, the DEP and concerned citizens toured the fly ash depot. Worries began with news in May 2006 that a barge had sunk at the docking site, releasing tons of fly ash into the Mon River.<ref name=dt/>
===Study finds dangerous level of hexavalent chromium at Pennsylvania coal waste sites===
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 several [[Coal ash|coal ash]] sites in Pennsylvania.<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> 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.<ref name="blind spot"/>
According to the report, hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) was reported at elevated levels at the following sites:<ref name="blind spot"/>
* [[Allegheny Energy]]'s [[Hatfields Ferry Power Station]] coal ash landfill at 104 ppb (parts per billion) - 5,200 times the proposed California drinking water goals and 1.04 times above the federal drinking water standard.
* [[Reliant Energy]]'s Seward Power Plant's unlined coal waste pond and landfill at 330 ppb - 16,500 times the proposed California drinking water goals and 3.3 times above the federal drinking water standard.
* [[PPL]]'s [[Martins Creek Steam Electric Station]] unlined coal waste pond at 100 ppb - 5,000 times the proposed California drinking water goals and above the federal drinking water standard.
A press release about the report read:
::Hexavalent chromium first made headlines after Erin Brockovich sued Pacific Gas & Electric because of poisoned drinking water from hexavalent chromium. Now new information indicates that the chemical has readily leaked from coal ash sites across the U.S. This is likely the tip of the iceberg because most coal ash dump sites are not adequately monitored.<ref>[http://www.examiner.com/green-culture-in-mankato/coal-ash-waste-tied-to-cancer-causing-chemicals-water-supplies "Coal ash waste tied to cancer-causing chemicals in water supplies"] Alicia Bayer, Examiner.com, February 1, 2011.</ref>
According to the report, the electric power industry is the leading source of chromium and chromium compounds released into the environment, representing 24 percent of releases by all industries in 2009.<Ref name="blind spot"/>
==Reports==
