D.E. Karn and J.C. Weadock Generating Complex has 50 groundwater monitoring wells, 41 of which have been polluted above federal advisory levels based on samples collected between October 07, 2010 and October 16, 2019. Groundwater at this site contains unsafe levels of lithium, arsenic, sulfate, boron, molybdenum, beryllium, cobalt, lead, chromium and radium.
Site descriptionConsumers Energy's D.E. Karn and J.C. Weadock Generating Complex are located in Essexville, Michigan adjacent to the Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron. The site has two power plants that include 821 MW of coal capacity. Weadock began operating in 1940, the two coal units at Karn began operating in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and two natural gas units at Karn began operating in the mid-1970s. According to Consumers Energy's website in March 2015, the plants burn over two million tons of coal, 57 billion cubic feet of natural gas, and 4.4 million gallons of fuel oil per year.
The plant's two coal-fired units are planned for retirement in 2023. Consumers Energy plans to replace that power through wind energy. Consumers Energy will continue to operate units three and four at Karn, which run on oil and natural gas.
The area authorized for disposal of solid waste includes historical Ponds A, B1, B2, C, D1, D2 and E, which includes settling basins, clarification ponds, and ash transport ditches. The Bottom Ash Pond located immediately to the south of historic Pond A is regulated under the CCR rule. The Complex is listed among the U.S. EPA's potential damage cases, indicating that it has polluted groundwater or surface water at levels which threaten human health and the environment.
You can find the industry-reported data here.
For more information on the D.E. Karn and J.C. Weadock Generating Complex, see EIP’s 2019 National Coal Ash Report .