Residents of Waukegan, Illinois, have secured a major environmental and public health victory that could reshape their waterfront and protect their drinking water after more than 10 years of community pushback. The Illinois Pollution Control Board ordered Midwest Generation, a subsidiary of NRG Energy, to remove leaking coal ash ponds from the city's lakefront.
"For too long, toxic coal ash has posed dangerous environmental and health risks to our community. Today's announcement is a major victory for everyone in our community who simply wants to protect our lakefront and live in a clean, healthy community," local Illinois state Rep. Rita Mayfield said, according to Lake and McHenry County Scanner. "Our hope is that this will increase the health and wellbeing of our residents, but also our environment."
The publication reported that state officials had denied the company's request to leave the coal ash behind. Since closing in 2022, the old coal plant has been contaminated with coal ash, a dangerous byproduct of burning coal over decades. The denial means the company must dig up and safely relocate the remaining coal ash to a lined storage site designed to prevent leaks.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency reported that the closed sites are still contaminating groundwater with harmful toxins. After the plant closed, NRG requested permission to leave the coal ash in place. This "adjusted standard" would have allowed the company to abandon a site with a history of health risks and safety concerns.
Coal ash is a huge industrial problem in the U.S. It can carry toxins such as mercury and arsenic, which may leak into soil, water, and, in some cases, air.
The panel's decision follows a broader push across the country to hold polluters responsible and give old industrial sites a new purpose. In West Virginia, a former coal site now hosts a solar farm, while Tennessee's old K-25 nuclear facility has been turned into a hub for clean energy innovation.
Celeste Flores, co-chair of Clean Power Lake County, acknowledged that "community members have been at the forefront" of this major victory. She said the group will keep working with local leaders and residents to make sure the cleanup moves forward and that the community is supported through the transition.
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