Environmental department staff determined on Monday that material found at the H.F. Lee facility in Wayne County is not coal ash as falsely reported by a special interest group. The material, called cenospheres are inert and non-toxic.
“It’s unfortunate that a political group masquerading as environmentalists is deliberately trying to mislead the public,” said Tom Reeder, assistant secretary of the environmental department. “This type of fear mongering is appalling in the wake of a storm that cost people their lives, their homes, and their businesses.”
During an unrelated site visit on Saturday, environmental staff inspected the erosion of an inactive coal ash basin and determined that a minimal amount of coal ash – described as less than would fit in a pickup truck – was released from the basin.