Duke will need to excavate or cap ponds at Wabash River Generating Station

Duke Energy will need to create a corrective action plan for its coal ash ponds in Indiana after mandatory groundwater testing found the ponds have contaminants at levels higher than groundwater protection standards.

On March 1 Duke released its compliance data and reporting on the coal ash ponds at the now shuttered Wabash River Generating Station.

The figures show the ash ponds have high levels of arsenic, cobalt and lead.

The samples were taken from 37 monitoring wells placed at the base of the coal ponds, and weren’t from drinking water wells, said Angeline Protogere, a spokeswoman for the company.

Duke Energy plans to post its corrective action plans in July and hold a public forum to review the plans, she said.

“This is a detailed regulatory process. We will evaluate a range of cleanup methods and technologies that are protective of the environment,” Protogere said.

Cleanup options include excavating ponds or capping the ponds and keeping the ash in place. Both methods require steps to be taken to protect the water quality of nearby rivers or lakes, Protogere said.