Gibson Generating Station has 114 groundwater monitoring wells, 108 of which have been polluted above federal advisory levels based on samples collected between May 06, 2010 and May 17, 2019. Groundwater at this site contains unsafe levels of boron, arsenic, molybdenum, manganese, sulfate, lithium, cobalt, selenium, lead, nitrate, barium, beryllium, nickel, chromium, mercury and thallium.
Site descriptionGibson Generating Station, which began operating in 1976, is located along the Wabash River, southeast of Mount Carmel, Illinois. It is a 5 unit, 3,145-MW coal fired power plant and Duke Energy’s largest plant. Unit 5 is co-owned by Wabash Valley Power Association and Indiana Municipal Power Agency. The station is comprised of four CCR units: East Ash Pond Settling Basin, North Ash Basin System, South Settling Basin, and South Landfill.
The lake is part of a designated wildlife area and was formerly used by the public for fishing until it was closed due to high levels of selenium by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. Drinking water contamination from boron and manganese were documented in private residential wells in 2007 and 2008 and led Duke Energy to supply bottled water to residents of Mt. Carmel, whose water had been polluted above drinking water standards and health advisories. On-site wells have shown contamination with high levels of arsenic, selenium, boron, manganese, and iron. The Gibson Generating Station is among EPA’s list of potential damage cases – indicating 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 about the Gibson Generating Station, see EIP's 2019 National Coal Ash Report.