The northern Indiana utility NIPSCO plans to remove coal ash from five ponds at its Michigan City Generating Station which will close by 2028, but will keep a legacy coal ash pond in place as well as coal ash fill on the site.

Indiana lags behind other states when it comes to closing toxic coal ash ponds safely. Thats according to a new report by the Hoosier Environmental Council.

Coal ash contains toxic heavy metals like arsenic. Exposure to it can cause cancer, damage your nervous system, and cause other health issues.

Coal ash from a nearby landfill contaminated drinking water wells in Pines with toxic heavy metals. Ash was also used as fill in construction sites at homes and roads in the area.

The Environmental Protection Agency issued a memo this week saying contamination in groundwater that feeds into rivers, streams, and lakes doesnt need to be regulated under the Clean Water Act.

Indiana Department of Environmental Management sent letters to utilities in December noting that it can't give approval until utilities show how the plans will control contamination.

The Hoosier Environmental Council and five other groups are suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over recent rollbacks to coal ash regulations.

The Main Ash Pond, owned by Tanners Creek Development LLC, is a "legacy pond" - which means it's located at a closed down power plant.

The proposed revisions include allowing individual states to set their own standards for coal ash disposal.

Duke Energy says the move is an attempt to use "fear and the courts to upend public policy."