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Braun signs orders on mining coal ash for metals, statewide water inventory

By Rebecca Thiele

Posted April 21, 2025

A coal ash pond at the Clifty Creek coal plant in Jefferson County. Bare dirt sits in front of a yellow building. In the background are trees surrounding a body of water with a bridge crossing it.

Valuable metals could be extracted out of coal ash in ponds like the ones at the Clifty Creek coal plant in Jefferson County. (Rebecca Thiele/IPB News)

Gov. Mike Braun signed two executive orders Monday that focus on the state's natural resources. One aims to develop a new market for Indiana’s toxic coal ash waste, while the other would further research water resources in the state.

Some of the very metals that make coal ash toxic also make it valuable. Things like lithium, cobalt, manganese and nickel can be used to make batteries, smart phones and wind turbines.

Braun’s executive order would create a council to lead efforts to mine the state’s coal ash waste. In a statement, the governor said the U.S. can’t depend on China for rare earth elements and that Indiana has an opportunity to “power the modern economy.”

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Another of Braun’s executive orders creates a statewide inventory of Indiana’s water resources. It’s not clear how this would differ from the regional water studies the Indiana Finance Authority has been working on since 2019.

Groups like the Indiana Chamber of Commerce have raised concerns about the pace of the IFA's work. It said conflicts over water for projects like the LEAP industrial district in Lebanon show the state needs a statewide water plan now.

Rebecca is our energy and environment reporter. Contact her at rthiele@iu.edu or follow her on Twitter at @beckythiele.