JH Campbell Generating Complex has 91 groundwater monitoring wells, 62 of which have been polluted above federal advisory levels based on samples collected between March 31, 2010 and October 10, 2019. Groundwater at this site contains unsafe levels of boron, selenium, molybdenum, barium, arsenic, chromium, lithium, thallium, antimony, cadmium and cobalt.
Site descriptionThe JH Campbell Generating Complex is owned by the Consumers Energy Company and is located about one mile east of Lake Michigan in Ottawa County. The complex consists of three coal-fired units that have a net capacity of 1,561-MW. The complex is scheduled to be retired in 2025, according to the company. Campbell has a lined landfill and four ponds regulated under the federal coal ash rule. The only active impoundments are Bottom Ash Ponds Unit 1-2 and Pond A, as the Bottom Ash Pond Unit 3 began closure in June 2017. The ash ponds are approximately 267 acres in size and the landfill is approximately 108 acres. In response to an Environmental Protection Agency request for data in 2010, Consumer's Energy admitted that discharges from the Complex contaminated groundwater more than state and/or federal standards for antimony, boron, chromium, lead, selenium, vanadium, cadmium, lead, manganese and zinc - though the facility does not routinely analyze groundwater samples for cadmium or lead.
You can find the industry-reported data here. For more information about the JH Campbell Generating Complex, see EIP's 2019 National Coal Ash Report.