Colstrip ash pond cleanup could cost $700M, Montana DEQ says

Cleaning up Colstrip will cost as much as $700 million, maybe more, according to a legislative memo from state environmental regulators.

Department of Environmental Quality officials have informed Dan Zolnikov, R-Billings, chairman of the House Energy Committee, that just cleaning up the three coal ash ponds fed by the power plant will cost $400 million to $700 million. It was the first time numbers had been put to the final cleanup costs of all three ponds.

"Our big question, the biggest one, is if NorthWestern owns one sixth of at least the big ponds, thats one sixth of $600 million, $100 million, who will pay that?" Zolnikov said.

Some of that burden will fall on utility customers.

Read more: https://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/colstrip-ash-pond-cleanup-could-cost-m-montana-deq-says/article_74c97386-2c1f-5689-8a43-6ff43f96fcdc.html