We Energies Pays State $100K in Bluff Collapse Lawsuit Settlement

We Energies will pay the state $100,000 as part of a settlement in a environmental regulations lawsuit stemming from the October 2011 bluff collapse at the energy company’s Oak Creek power plant.

The suit filed in Racine County Circuit Court alleged We Energies excavated waste materials and constructed a new retention pond in areas other than those originally approved by the DNR, Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said Tuesday in a press release. Additionally, the company failed to notify the state Department of Natural Resources when grading of the project reached 50 percent completion and failed to revise its erosion control.

The settlement was approved Monday by Racine County Circuit Court Judge Gerald P. Ptacek.

The $100,000 includes We Energies reimbursing the DNR $53,397 for its costs of response, the Wisconsin Department of Justice $3,000 for its costs of prosecution and forfeitures and costs and surcharges totaling $43,602.

The environmental regulation violations were discovered by the DNR following its response to an October 31, 2011, bluff collapse on the south end of the facility located on Lake Michigan. 

The bluff collapse released approximately 22,720 cubic yards of material, including coal ash, a small portion of which was discharged into Lake Michigan. 

The collapse also carried debris from the construction worksite, including vehicles and heavy machinery down the bluff and into the lake. 

Crews worked through November 2011 to clean up after the collapse. The Environmental Protection Agency estimated We Energies paid $12.1 million for the cleanup and remediation of the site after the collapse, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.