(Iowa Capital Dispatch) – An analysis of groundwater monitoring near coal plants in Iowa shows elevated levels of toxic heavy metals and pollutants.  Environmental groups say the long term effects on groundwater are another reason to stop burning coal in Iowa. The study, released by Iowa Environmental Council and Sierra Club, was conducted by the Interdisciplinary Environmental Clinic at Washington University and based on data collected by MidAmerican Energy Company at five coal plants it operates.

Michael Schmidt, an attorney for the Iowa Environmental Council, said the study shows that continuing to burn coal causes expanded exposure to pollutants like mercury, arsenic, lead, and other toxic metals, which impacts public health. A spokesperson for MidAmerican said the Sierra Club study is “misleading” and highlights certain pieces of data to “to further its agenda.”

The study pertains largely to the disposal of coal ash, which is a general term for the byproducts produced while burning coal, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  Coal ash is stored in either landfills or ponds which have ash and liquid ash residues. Coal ash can also be recycled, and according to the American Coal Ash Association, 62% of the coal ash created in 2022 was recycled into products like concrete and gypsum panels.

According to the Sierra Club and IEC analysis, MidAmerican has contributed to nine coal ash ponds and six coal ash landfills, totaling more than 700 acres. EPA established rules for coal ash, also called coal combustion residuals, or CCR, in 2015 after determining the improper disposal of coal ash was “linked to cases of harm to surface or ground water or to the air.”

The 2015 rules addressed the risks of the metals and contaminants found in coal ash seeping into groundwater, blowing in the air and of “catastrophic” failures of coal surface compounds. Under the new rules, operators were not allowed to dispose of coal ash near certain areas like wetlands, had to establish groundwater monitoring wells and install liners into new ponds to prevent leaching into groundwater. EPA has updated the rules several times since 2015, most recently in 2024, to include regulations, including groundwater monitoring, for inactive coal ash ponds at inactive electric plants.

Geoff Greenwood, media relations manager with MidAmerican Energy said the company has not pushed for “rollbacks” to federal regulation around CCR. Greenwood said the industry is highly regulated, and MidAmerican is in full compliance. As regulation around CCR changed over the years, Greenwood said MidAmerican “closed, cleaned and consolidated all previously operated coal ash impoundments.”

The study looks at the Ottumwa Generating Station, the Walter Scott, Jr. Energy Center near Council Bluffs, the Louisa Generating Station near the Quad-Cities and the George Neal facilities near Sioux City, which are owned by MidAmerican.

MidAmerican, which is owned by Berkshire Hathaway, committed to close its coal plants by 2050. In 2023, coal accounted for 23% of MidAmerican’s total energy generation.