Consumers Energy agrees to a vote on coal ash resolution

The Board of CMS Energy has agreed to include a resolution about coal ash in its proxy statement and present it to the shareholders for a vote at its annual shareholders meeting in May, company spokesman Jeff Holyfield said today.

The resolution, introduced by the California based environmental advocacy group As You Sow asks the Board to prepare a report by August 2010 on company efforts to reduce the environmental and health hazards associated with coal combustion waste. It also asks the company to discuss how these efforts may reduce legal and other risks to the company’s finances and operations.

Operations at Consumers Energy plants generate around 700,000 tons of coal ash each year.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency:

CCRs [Coal Combustion Residues] consist of fly ash, bottom ash, coal slag, and flue gas desulfurization (FGD) residue. CCRs contain a broad range of metals, for example, arsenic, selenium, cadmium, lead, and mercury, but the concentrations of these are generally low. However, if not properly managed, (for example, in lined units), CCRs may cause a risk to human health and the environment and, in fact, EPA has documented cases of environmental damage.