St. Johns RIVERKEEPER and Public Trust for Conservation Fight to Keep Toxic Coal Ash Out of Our River
Represented by the Public Trust for Conservation, St. Johns RIVERKEEPER has filed a Clean Water Act (CWA) and Resource Conservation & Recovery Act (RCRA) lawsuit against the Keystone Terminal in Jacksonville for illegally discharging coal ash into the river, improperly managing ash during transport and storage, and contaminating groundwater.
These ongoing violations continue to expose the St. Johns River and area residents to dangerous contaminants like mercury, cadmium, lead, selenium and arsenic.
Since 2022, Keystone has handled more than 2 billion pounds of potentially toxic coal combustion ash at its Jacksonville facility. Substantial amounts of that material have been stored in unauthorized areas that are unlined and lack adequate safeguards to protect groundwater and the St. Johns River. Keystone has also failed to use adequate dust-suppression measures to control fugitive coal ash dust in these unauthorized areas, allowing that dust to travel into neighboring communities and putting nearby residents at risk.
“We notified Keystone more than three months ago that we would go to court if these serious violations were not sufficiently addressed,” states John November, Executive Director and General Counsel of the Public Trust for Conservation. “Keystone has had ample time to correct these problems and has failed to take the necessary corrective action. We are moving forward with this lawsuit to hold them accountable, bring these ongoing violations to an end, and stop pollution that is jeopardizing the health of the St. Johns River and putting neighboring communities at risk.”
“Private companies must take responsibility for their operations that put our river and our neighbors at risk due to the irresponsible handling of toxic materials,” insisted Lisa Rinaman, the St. Johns Riverkeeper. “Our citizens and the St. Johns deserve to be protected from imported pollution and this lawsuit is intended to do exactly that.”
In 2017, Puerto Rico banned the permanent storage of coal ash, a by-product of burning coal, after studies found high levels of cancer and other serious health conditions. As a result, the AES investor-owned coal plant began shipping its coal ash on barges to Jacksonville nearly 18 miles up the St. Johns River to the Keystone Terminal where it is temporarily stored and then trucked to a landfill in Folkston, Georgia.
In March 2021, a barge carrying coal ash from Puerto Rico crashed into the jetties near the mouth of the St. Johns River. Up to 9,000 tons of coal ash spilled into the surrounding waters demonstrating the danger of transporting toxic waste on our local waterways.
The lawsuit was filed on August 19, 2026 against Keystone Terminals for violations at their facility located at 1915 Wigmore Street, Jacksonville, Florida, on the St. Johns River.