Who is impacted?
I have prepared this petition on behalf of myself, fellow Avon Lake, Ohio residents, members of the surrounding communities, and anyone who is invested in the health and well-being of our environment. The purpose of this petition is to draw your attention to a critical issue that has been affecting us all – the environmental impact caused by the former Avon Lake, OH power plant.

The History
The Avon Lake power plant has been a cornerstone of our community since 1926 providing essential energy to homes and businesses alike. However, with the growing awareness and understanding of environmental issues, it has become increasingly clear that the century of operations of this plant has had a detrimental impact on our local environment.

 

 

 

Shown above, the 1926 construction of the Avon Lake, OH power plant. The long concrete box extending into Lake Erie is the Powder Maker Creek conduit used by the power plant to release waste water into Lake Erie.

 

 

Shown above are the current outlets from the power plant into Lake Erie.

Prior to the Clean Water Act of 1972, the power plant dumped millions of gallons of waste water daily into Lake Erie.  That waste water contained unrestricted amounts of toxic chemicals and heavy metals.

After the Clean Water Act of 1972, the power plant continued to dump toxic waste water into Lake Erie. The CWA established limits on the amount of toxic chemicals that could be released into Lake Erie. However, the power plant did have CWA violations, events when the released toxic materials exceeded the CWA limits.

 

 

 

The history of the power plant construction, operations, and what we know about the effects of burning coal strongly indicates that the sediment surrounding the power plant is contaminated with a century of dumping PCBs, selenium, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, and more into Lake Erie.

Learn more about Coal Ash the primary by-product of coal-fired power plants.

What is at stake?
ALERG, a subsidiary of Charah, is the current owner of the power plant property and they have made statements during public meetings that they have zero intentions of doing any cleanup of the Lake Erie beach or sediment. ALERG believes that Lake Erie beach and sediment where the plant has been dumping toxic waste for almost a century is not their responsibility to cleanup.

May 2023 Clean Water Act Violation 
Interestingly, there was a Clean Water Act violation in May of 2023 by ALERG where excessive Mercury was discharged into Lake Erie. They did not disclose this violation to the city. I discovered the CWA violation myself on the EPA website. ALERG has claimed that the mercury discharge was a one time event. According to Scott Cameron 8 samples were taken during the month of May before the mercury level was below the violation level. This was not a one time event but an ongoing issue during the month of May 2023.

Discharging Contaminated Water Without a CWA Permit
We have also discovered that ALERG is discharging water from a former coal storage pile directly into Lake Erie through the Avon Lake storm water system without a CWA permit and monitoring. Pictured below is the massive former coal storage area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ALERG is not being transparent
The CWA violation is evidence that ALERG is not forthcoming or transparent about the activity at the power plant site. The rerouting coal storage runoff directly into the lake is potential serious CWA violation.

ALERG plans to "clean up" the power plant site in 2 years when most power plant clean up efforts take decades. We cannot trust our environmental safety to a corporate interest that has proven to be untrustworthy.

Why Is Now The Time To Act?
Now is the time for all stakeholders to stand in solidarity with the Avon Lake City Council and the administration of Mayor elect Mark Spaetzel. Proper remediation of the power plant property is a top priority.

The City of Avon Lake has a $300,000 Grant from the State of Ohio for environmental cleanup of the power plant site. These funds can be used to start the investigation of the water and sediment near the Powder Maker Creek outfalls. It is imperative to conduct this investigation and collect hard evidence that Charah and ALERG will not be able to escape. This is a first step in holding Charah and ALERG responsible for proper remediation of the property.

Video of the 11/27/2023 City Council Meeting This is a clip of the discussion about the ALERG CWA violation and why a third party environmental consultant is needed.

Video of the 12/04/2023 City Council Meeting This is a clip of the continued discussion of the power plant environmental issues and need for a third party environmental consultant.

Video of the 12/11/2013 City Council Meeting This is a clip of the continued discussion regarding the Mercury discharge violation and the new issue connecting contaminated water directly to the city storm water system without a CWA permit.

This petition details crucial steps, aligning our support with the initiatives of the Avon Lake City Council and Mayor-elect Mark Spaetzel:

1. Complete transparency in regards to power plant property environmental concerns and remediation progression.

2.  Begin investigation and sampling of the area surrounding the power plant discharges into Lake Erie using the $300,000 State grant.

3.  Take the necessary steps and coordinate with the necessary consultants to develop a best practices sustainable strategic remediation development plan independent of Charah/ALERG.