A public hearing with the Environmental Protection Agency over proposed deep injection wells at the J.H. Campbell Power Plant has been scheduled after requests from local governments and Consumers Energy.
The two proposed wells, part of the plant’s decommissioning process, would see the disposal of water with coal combustion residuals into the ground. According to the EPA, Consumers Energy has shown the injected waste wouldn’t threaten any underground sources of drinking water. The permits would be valid for a decade.
While the company is confident, residents have raised concerns over both groundwater and the site’s proximity to Lake Michigan. In total, nearly 200 public comments have so far been collected by the EPA.
The public hearing is scheduled for 7:30-9:30 p.m. July 23 at Midtown Center, 96 W. 15th St. in Holland. The meeting will be preceded by an availability session at 6 p.m.
Comments can also be made online at regulations.gov/docket/epa-r05-ow-2025-2730 and are due by July 26.
Consumers planned to shutter the Campbell Plant in May 2025 before an emergency order from the U.S. Department of Energy required operations to continue. In total, five such orders have been issued, the most recent requiring the plant to remain open through Aug. 16.
Consumers has previously stated intentions for “cost recovery,” which could fall to ratepayers within MISO (Midcontinent Independent System Operator) — an electric grid including Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
— Cassidey Kavathas is the politics and court reporter at The Holland Sentinel. Contact her at ckavathas@hollandsentinel.com. Follow her on X @cassideykava.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: EPA schedules public hearing on planned injection wells at Campbell
Reporting by Cassidey Kavathas, Holland Sentinel / The Holland Sentinel
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By Cassidey Kavathas, Holland Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
