Residents near coal fly-ash pit file suit

Nov 2 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Susan Hylton Tulsa World, Okla.

POTEAU -- Residents of Bokoshe filed a lawsuit against the AES Corp. on Tuesday in an effort to close an old mining pit where fly ash from a nearby coal-powered power plant is dumped.

The plaintiffs, who have complained for years about the pit's environmental and health risks, say the suit was filed against the defendants "for their creation of a noxious and harmful nuisance, pollution and contamination, trespass, diminution of property values and business interest, and personal injury."

Lundy Kiger, vice president of AES Shady Point LLC, which operates the power plant, said in a statement that "we believe the allegations being made are baseless and we will defend ourselves."

Plaintiffs are William Reese, Diane Reese, Herman Tolbert, Tim Tanksley, Sharon Tanksley, Susan Holmes, Charles Tackett and others. They are represented by several attorneys, including Clark Brewster of Tulsa.

Filed in LeFlore County District Court, the suit names the AES Shady Point power plant, Making Money Having Fun LLC and its fly-ash operators individually, Thumbs Up Ranch, GCI Mining, Mountain Minerals and several trucking companies.

The trucking companies haul the coal by-products, known as fly ash, from the power plant to the Thumbs Up Ranch, which is operated by Making Money Having Fun.

"We are like a lot of Americans upset with big corporations, Wall Street and the government for not responding to the needs of the people. They don't listen to us," said plaintiff Sharon Tanksley in a news release issued by the Bokoshe Environmental Cause Group. "We decided if anything is going to be done, we'll have to do it ourselves."

According to the plaintiffs, people living in more than half of the homes near the fly-ash pit have had cancer. The plaintiffs say they also believe that the high number of respiratory illnesses -- including asthma in children -- among area residents is caused by dust blowing from the fly-ash pit.

The lawsuit asks the court to force the defendants to stop the dumping, clean up the site, and pay for current and future fly-ash-related illnesses and property damage.

The plaintiffs are seeking more than $75,000 each in compensatory and punitive damages.

Because of contamination problems, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission last year prohibited Making Money Having Fun from accepting water from oil and gas wells that was mixed with the fly ash.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a cease-and-desist order against Making Money Having Fun in April 2010 for violations of the federal Clean Water Act stemming from the discharge of pollutants into a tributary of Doe Creek.

The EPA also issued an administrative order against the company in December 2009 stemming from the discharge of drilling fluid into Buck Creek, which inspectors found to be heavily contaminated with salts.

Susan Hylton 918-581-8381

susan.hylton@tulsaworld.com