‘Dumping ground’: Class action lawsuit filed over Henry County contamination claims
CLINTON, Mo. (KCTV) - A class action lawsuit claims Evergy and three other companies used part of Henry County, Mo., as a “dumping ground” for fly ash.
Attorneys filed the class action lawsuit on behalf of people living within 10 miles of the Montrose Generating Station. The station is located about 15 miles southwest of Clinton, Mo.
The class action lawsuit also asks for medical monitoring for anyone who lived, worked, or attended school within a 10-mile radius of the plant for at least a year over the past four decades.
The newly filed lawsuit demands a jury trial and claims the four companies were negligent and caused property damage that could impact the health of “hundreds of people.”
Evergy said it is aware of the lawsuit, but said it doesn’t comment on specific litigation.
The company did release the following statement:
HISTORY
According to the lawsuit, KL owned the coal-fired power plant before Evergy bought the utility. The power plant operated for nearly 60 years before it closed in 2018, according to the lawsuit.
It claims coal combustion residuals were produced at the site for decades. The residuals are also known commonly as fly ash. The practice “... essentially making the Montrose location its dumping ground,” the lawsuit claims.
The lawsuit claims the property now is used as a place for the companies to store fly ash and distribute it around the southeast part of the state.
PROPERTY DAMAGE CLAIMS
The lawsuit claims the companies are responsible for spreading fly ash across the community, including at schools and private properties.
The document claims by spreading the fly ash around, the four companies have contaminated the air, land, and water with dangerous toxins.
The defendants claim hundreds of thousands of pounds of fly ash and other toxins were generated at the coal-fired plant near Montrose, Mo.
The company that owned the plant realized it could make money by selling the fly ash starting in the 1980’s, according to the lawsuit.
It also claims Evergy moved the fly ash from the plant into trucks, without using a closed system to mitigate the amount of fly ash that escaped into the air and property.
Another company named in the lawsuit is accused of doing three things with the fly ash:
- Moving it offsite
- Putting it into bags and then moved offsite
- Moving it into an onsite landfill
Evergy is also accused of storing the fly ash in ponds on the power plant’s property. The lawsuit accused Evergy of allowing the fly ash to run off piles and into the ponds, further contaminating property and air in the area.
CLOSURE PLAN
Evergy created and implemented a closure plan for the plant in Oct. 2016.
The lawsuit claims the fly ash at the site was to be covered iwth an “engineered cap” to prevent it from contaminating nearby properties.
The lawsuit claims that is not what is happening at the site.
Instead, it claims Evergy and another company excavated the fly ash and other toxins from the ponds at the former power plant in Jan. 2020. It claims the fly ash was dumped above ground on the property.
The companies are accused of spreading more fly ash into the air as workers moved it on the property.
The lawsuit claims because of their negligence the groundwater, surface water, soil, air and environment in the area is all contaminated.
The lawsuit demands a jury trial and seeks medical monitoring and a monetary judgement to cover damages.
SECOND LAWSUIT
A Henry County couple has already sued the four companies over the former plant.
Bill Steward and his wife, Sue, sued Evergy and three other companies earlier this month.
The suit claims Evergy now owns a coal-fired power plant in Montrose, Mo. Kansas City Power and Light previously owned the property. The lawsuit accuses the four companies of failing to take precautions while storing, disposing, and transporting hundreds of thousands of pounds of “Fly Ash.”
In a statement Evergy said its Montrose facility has a dust control plan in place. The plan includes visual observations to confirm it is in full compliance. The Fly Ash observations are conducted twice a day.
Evergy also released a statement in response to the lawsuit filed by the Stewards.
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