Coal ash sitting dormant in an unlined portion of the landfill near the Cayuga Power Plant has been seeping into groundwater for nearly 30 years and has flowed into nearby Milliken Creek, potentially contaminating drinking water, a geologist said in a meeting with Tompkins County officials Wednesday afternoon.
Mark Quarles, owner and a senior consultant with Nashville, Tennessee-based geology firm Global Environmental, was brought in last fall to assist in the review of a proposed permit renewal for discharge at the Cayuga Power Plant facility and landfill by the chairman of the Tompkins County Environmental Review Committee, John Dennis.