Sutherland Generating Station has 6 groundwater monitoring wells, 5 of which have been polluted above federal advisory levels based on samples collected between March 26, 2018 and December 12, 2019. Groundwater at this site contains unsafe levels of sulfate, arsenic, boron, cobalt, molybdenum, lead and lithium.
Site descriptionInterstate Power and Light’s (a subsidiary of Alliant Energy) Sutherland Generating Station is in Marshalltown, Iowa River in Marhsall County. The facility was originally constructed in 1955, with three coal-fired units and a net capacity of 157-MW at its peak. All three units have since been retired, the last being in 2017. The plant has two unlined ash ponds and an unlined ash landfill. The ash ponds were constructed in the 1970's, and the landfill was constructed in the mid-1980's. Groundwater beneath the site generally flows toward the west-northwest. Lansing’s Upper Ash Pond is scheduled to be closed by October 17, 2023 by a combination of CCR removal, consolidation, and in-place closure with a cap. You can find the industry-reported data here.
For more information about the Sutherland Generating Station, see EIP's 2019 National Coal Ash Report.