Sewage spill closes Baldwin Lake
<span>BALDWIN -- Officials with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and Dynegy Midwest Generation LLC are working to address a sewage spill that resulted in the closure of Baldwin Lake on Wednesday.</span>
<span>In a news release from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Dynegy reported the discharge of untreated wastewater into the lake from an open valve. It was determined late Thursday afternoon that part of the valve had broken off and caused the spill.</span>
<span>"We've completely ruled out human error," said John Cooley, managing director of the Baldwin Energy Complex, in a phone interview with the Herald Tribune. "New parts will be delivered next week and we will install them when they arrive."</span>
Cooley said the open valve was discovered by a plant employee late Wednesday afternoon. The valve was located outside a locked gate on the property.
"At this point, we have closed the valve and have a lock on that," Cooley said. "We are commencing with water quality sampling to make sure the lake water is still good to go.
<span>Baldwin Lake is a 2,018-acre reservoir that serves as a source of cooling water for the Baldwin Energy Complex. Dynegy is the parent company of the power plant.</span>
"Public access (to the lake) will remain closed until we complete sampling," Cooley said.
<span>An estimate of the extent of the spill was identified as 100,000 gallons in the IDNR release, but Cooley said that estimate is on the high end due to the maximum amount of volume that could have been released into the lake.</span>
<span>"We believe about six days," Cooley said on how long the valve was open. "We responded to the incident immediately upon discovery."</span>
<span>Cooley said it could take between five and 10 days to take water samples and get results.</span>
<span>"We've identified a few areas around the lake so we can get a good cross-sampling," he said. "We will be taking samples at various points."</span>
<span>Chris Young, public information officer with the IDNR, told the Herald Tribune that Dynegy contacted the IEPA about the spill "right away" and is working with the organization on any cleanup.</span>
<span>"We have a close relationship with the IEPA and the IDNR," Cooley said. "The IDNR takes care of the lake and manages that as a wildlife resource."</span>
<span>Kim Biggs, acting public relations officer for the IEPA, said plant officials were "very proactive" in reporting the situation.</span>
<span>"They reached out to us and the IDNR separately," Biggs said. "They were very proactive in identifying they had a problem and resolved it quickly.</span>
<span>"They made sure the leakage had stopped and now it is a longer process of evaluating the situation and determining what steps need to be taken.</span>
<span> </span>The coal-fired Baldwin Energy Complex employs 250 of Dynegy's 1,000 employees statewide and produces enough electricity to power nearly 1.5 million homes.
<span>In 2012, the complex was part of a $1 billion investment program by Dynegy to add emissions control technology to its four coal-fired power plants in Illinois.</span>