OAKWOOD, Ill. (AP) – A power company is looking to wall off Illinois’ only national scenic river with rocks instead of removing toxic waste seeping into the water.
The Middle Fork of the Vermilion River is home to three pits of toxic coal ash from the shuttered Vermilion Power Station. The river runs through eastern Illinois’ Kickapoo State Park, about 120 miles south of Chicago.
The Chicago Tribune reports that state regulators and industry engineers worry the fast-moving river is eroding the banks so quickly it could unleash a surge of coal ash. But instead of digging out the toxic muck, Vistra Energy has proposed building a wall of rocks to armor a riverbank section more than six football fields long.
Environmental groups say the company’s proposal is extreme and temporary.
