Judge advances suit over coal ash pollution in Susquehanna River

According to the Center for Biological Diversity, a Pennsylvania power plant has been leaching toxic chemicals into surrounding waters for years.HARRISBURG, Pa. (CN) — A federal judge in Pennsylvania on Wednesday allowed the Center for Biological Diversity to continue its environmental suit against a power plant it says is leaching toxic chemicals into the East Coast’s largest river.The center first sued energy giant Talen Energy and its subsidiary Brunner Island LLC in April 2025, claiming the company’s Brunner Island Steam Electric Station in York County, Pennsylvania, has failed to properly dispose of its coal ash. That failure, the center claims, has allowed a litany of toxins to creep into the Susquehanna River — 500 feet from the company’s dumping grounds.“Federal and state environmental agencies have failed to enforce the law at this site,” said Jim Hecker, senior attorney with Public Justice’s Environmental Enforcement Project and a legal representative for the center. “We therefore brought this citizen suit to compel Brunner Island’s compliance with the national minimum criteria for coal ash storage and groundwater protection in the federal regulations.”Talen Energy and Brunner Island argued the center lacks standing. But U.S. District Judge Keli M. Neary disagreed, finding the center properly established an injury in fact, attributed it to Brunner Island Station and showed a likelihood that the injury could be redressed.“Under current EPA regulations, Brunner should be taking certain remedial measures it currently is not taking,” Neary, a Joe Biden appointee, wrote in her opinion. “Such allegations are sufficient for standing.”Center for Biological Diversity attorney Ragan Whitlock championed the ruling shortly after its publication.“This is a positive step for the Susquehanna River and everyone in Pennsylvania,” Whitlock said. “Now we can move forward to fight the pollution risks of this huge coal ash basin. It shouldn’t take a lawsuit to get this plant to comply with decade-old monitoring requirements, but in the absence of meaningful oversight, we’ll need the courts to protect our environment.”Talen Energy and Brunner Island could not be reached for comment.While Brunner Island Station currently disposes of its coal ash in a lined landfill, the 65-year-old coal and natural gas-powered plant has seven unlined basins containing coal ash going back decades.According to Talen Energy’s own 2024 report, groundwater downstream from one such unlined basin — Basin 5 — contained high levels of toxic metals including arsenic, lithium and aluminum.Exposure to such toxins can cause significant harm to both humans and aquatic species including nervous system damage, cardiovascular disease and several cancers.Worse yet, Basin 5 sits approximately 500 feet from the Susquehanna River, a massive waterway providing about 19 million gallons of freshwater to the Chesapeake Bay every minute. This endangers a major fishing hub and the habitats of several federally threatened and endangered species.Coupled with a 2016 study finding that at least 15 feet of Basin 5 is “saturated” with groundwater and further documents showing continued saturation since then, the center says Talen Energy’s failure to properly conduct oversight of the basin violates the Environmental Protection Agency’s CCR rule, which requires stringent monitoring of groundwater pollution for any inactive coal ash impoundment containing both coal ash and liquids.The center seeks an order requiring Talen Energy and Brunner Island to comply with the CCR rule for Basin 5 as soon as possible to limit further pollution.In compliance with a separate 2018 settlement with Sierra Club, the Brunner Island plant has halted all coal burning between May and September — considered peak smog season — and must halt all coal usage by 2028.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads