Viroqua area farmers oppose fly-ash landfill
An earlier story reported on Dairyland Power’s plans for a landfill for ash from one of its coal-fired generation plant.
From a story by Judy Newman in the Wisconsin State Journal:
Farmers in the Viroqua area, in southwestern Wisconsin, are banding together to oppose a proposal by Dairyland Power Cooperative to buy 600 acres of land for a fly-ash landfill that would occupy up to 75 acres.
The La Crosse electricity provider says that to meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards, it will have to install scrubbers on its coal-fired power plant at Genoa to reduce air pollution, including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and mercury.
But the resulting coal waste, most of which is currently recycled into concrete products or road-building materials, will be mixed with limestone; much of it will no longer qualify for those recycling projects. So the wholesale electric cooperative is considering landfill sites recommended by RMT, a Madison energy and environmental services company.
Property owners say they’re worried the fly ash will just trade air pollution for ground and possibly groundwater pollution.
