We Energies' Neighbors Fight Coal

Caledonia is disappearing: One house at a time. To date, We Energies has bought 30 homes and there are 10 more up for sale. 

The neighbors have put up with black soot in the air, acid rain, the constant smell of diesel fuel from the trains, heavy metals in their water supply, and a lot of denial from We Energies. The company doubled its production of energy in 2011, the coal piles are getting bigger, and trains are coming in dustier.

Because We Energies is buying up some of these properties for a buffer zone, the homes are literally disappearing. But 100s of others remain and yet We Energies officials claim there's no problem.

My story will examine the relationship between We Energies, the State of Wisconsin, local officials, the DNR, WisPark (We Energies development company) and the impact it has had on the neighbors living around the plant.

I co-own the Racine County Eye news website and have interviewed a number of the residents living around the largest coal plant in Wisconsin. Entire families are sick. They have seen their property values decrease, their wells contaminated and a black soot covers their homes.  They can't sleep because the constant noise from coal trains keeps them awake and shakes their homes. Some neighbors are currently in mediation with We Energies regarding their issues.

Some issues have been addressed, but things are definitely worse for some because the power plant has doubled its production levels. We Energies tested inside several homes and while coal dust was found officials with the power company say the particles were too big to cause human health concerns. Experts representing the families have called into question We Energies testing procedures and have said the test results are inaccurate. 

Because the power plant has not publicly acknowledged the impact of coal dust being found in the neighbor's homes as an issue, many neighbors just don't believe there's a problem.

But the science community has been quite vocal about the issue. 

Dr. Alan Lockwood made the following comments in his article titled: How Breathing Coal Ash is Hazardous to your Health :

Take a deep breath. But if you live near a coal-burning power plant that dumps coal ash into a nearby landfill or lagoon, don’t inhale too deeply because you’re probably
breathing fugitive dust made up of airborne coal ash filled with dangerous and toxic pollutants. Whether blown from an uncovered dump site or from the back of an open truck, toxic dust contaminates hundreds of fence line communities across the country. Acrid dust stings residents’ eyes and throats, and asthmatics, young and old, are forced to reach for inhalers. Breathing this toxic dust can be deadly, and yet no federal standards exist to protect affected communities.

So why has the state, the Department of Natural Resources and We Energies failed to acknowledge this?  Development... We Energies has used its development company to spur on industrial parks that have helped bolster many communities. 

I want to use this money to help pay for my time to do the research, and acquire documents from open records requests.

I anticipate that this project will take up to a year to get the outline, research, and book written. I appreciate all of the support I have had from the community in writing my news stories, but I think it's time to take this project to a higher level.