Critics question PPL report fly ash spill. Opponents of proposed settlement say study contradicts company's statements.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
By DOUGLAS B. BRILL
The Express-Times

L. MT. BETHEL TWP. Today is the deadline for public comment on PPL's proposed settlement with the state Department of Environmental Protection, the Warren County Environmental Commission said.  But the DEP says anyone who hasn't already weighed in on the proposed $1.5 million penalty against the energy company has missed their chance.  Jeff Russo doesn't really care."There are massive, massive discrepancies out there," said Russo, an attorney who intervened in the settlement proceedings.

Russo said he'll continue to submit information whether the deadline has passed or not. "At this point," he said, "we don't really trust any determination (DEP officials) make."

A basin at the energy company's Martins Creek power plant spilled tens of millions of gallons of contaminated water into the Delaware River in August 2005. The water was mixed with fly ash, a byproduct of coal combustion that contains pollutants.

The DEP and PPL reached a preliminary agreement in January for the energy company to pay a $1.3 million fine and $200,000 in court costs for the spill. The agreement was made public March 2.  That started a 60-day public comment period that DEP spokesman Mark Carmon said ended May 1.

The DEP, Carmon said, received two comments during that time: One a brief letter from someone who thought the fine was not enough and the other a report commissioned by the Delaware Riverside Conservancy.
Russo and Cheryl Burket of the Warren Environmental Commission said the period was to be extended until todayto allow review of the report, which studies the impact of the fly ash on the river. It was completed in April.

"No one had time to review it," Russo said.

Russo said the report, a 72-page document from Trenton-based Sadat Associates, "basically contradicts everything" included in a PPL study of the impact of the spill. The DEP is reviewing the Sadat report to determine whether it should change the terms of the settlement, Carmon said.

Russo said he is uncomfortable having the department make that determination. PPL and the department deliberately excluded the conservancy from weeks of settlement negotiations even though the conservancy has a legal right to participate, he said.

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania will have final say on the settlement. The Warren Environmental Commission, meanwhile, will hold a meeting at 7:30 tonight to consider a resolution favoring or rejecting the proposed settlement.

Burket said the commission would consider a similar resolution regarding the extent of the river cleanup, which the energy company said cost about $35.5 million.

Reporter Douglas B. Brill can be reached at 610-759-0508 or by e-mail at dbrill@express-times.com.
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