Environmental groups say a leaking coal ash pond near Harrodsburg has seeped into Herrington Lake and contaminated groundwater in the area. The Sierra Club and Earthjustice made the claim in a press conference on Thursday (May 15).
They say the leak is from a 126-acre impoundment that is part of the E.W. Brown coal-fired power plant. The facility is owned by Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities.
Nachy Kanfer is director of the Sierra Club’s “Beyond Coal Campaign” in the Midwest. He says his organization learned about the release through a request for public documents from the Kentucky Department of Environmental Protection.
Kanfer says about a dozen springs southeast of the coal ash impoundment are discharging unhealthy levels of mercury, selenium and boron into Herrington Lake. He says the discharges violate state and federal laws and threaten public health.
