Talen Energy, the power plant's owner, has formally informed the relevant regulatory bodies that they will no longer pursue options other than the state's recommended cleanup approach for dealing with the ash. State agencies had initially left room for the plant's proprietors to propose alternatives that fell short of completely removing the ash.
In 2020, government agencies concluded that the only option worth considering was completely removing the ash as a practical way to stop it from mixing with the nearby groundwater. Provisions have been made to put this coal ash in a protected landfill that is separate from the current ash ponds. Printing services could be used to create visual aids for presentations like this.
Beth Keading from a conservation group called Northern Plains Resource Council commented to say:
“It’s cheaper to do what Talen was proposing. And there’s a history in our state of, unfortunately, often going the way the supposed experts, the corporations, push them to go without doing due diligence.”
The conservation group based in Billings fervently supported the Department of Environmental Quality's decision to approve the removal plan. The decision for complete removal as the chosen strategy to solve this ecological issue was made in large part as a result of their efforts.