* Chicago Tribune…

More than a half century’s worth of toxic coal ash will be excavated from the flood plain of Illinois’ only national scenic river as part of a deal announced Thursday that could establish a precedent for other hazardous waste dumps throughout the state.

Under a legal settlement brokered by environmental lawyers and Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office, Texas-based Vistra will drain pits of water-soaked coal ash along the Middle Fork of the Vermilion River, about 120 miles south of Chicago. The company also will dig a trench to collect contaminated groundwater and monitor the fast-eroding riverbank after major storms.

Within the next three years, Vistra is required to apply for a permit to build a landfill nearby to safely dispose of enough coal ash from the former Vermilion Power Station to fill the Empire State Building nearly two and a half times.

Vistra previously had sought permission to cap the coal ash and leave it behind a wall of rocks nearly six football fields long. The company backed down after a Chicago Tribune reporter and photographer paddled the Middle Fork in 2018 with a trio of river advocates who documented how previous efforts to wall off the waste had failed. […]

Concerns about the Middle Fork also helped persuade state leaders to adopt new regulations requiring Vistra and other energy companies to clean up coal ash dumps near two dozen other power plants, most of which will be closed by the end of the decade.

* Kind of unrelated, but here’s another river story for ya…

Organizers of Floatzilla are kicking off their campaign for this year’s paddle, trying to create the largest raft of canoes and kayaks in the nation.

Last year, 1,648 people registered for the paddling event. Floatzilla will need 1,500 more people to beat the world record of 3,151.

“We are hoping to make this the largest paddling event in the nation,” Michael Corsiglia, River Action events manager, said. “River Action will be investing in the event more than ever before, both in terms of the variety of our approach and the total resources allocated.”

Participants must paddle their way to Lake Potter in Rock Island for the world-record attempt.

* The Tribune…

Three years after near-record high lake levels decimated parts of Chicago’s shoreline, some beaches are making a comeback.

Robin Mattheus, a coastal geologist with the Illinois State Geological Survey, said that after the Chicago Park District closed a few beaches due to severe erosion, establishing dune fields to stabilize the sand and encouraging plant growth allowed beaches like Rainbow and 63rd Street to stabilize.

“Those were the areas that took the brunt of the impact of lake level rise,” Mattheus said. “We’re actually seeing in our measurements, our sonar, our drone data, that the beaches are rebounding; they’re reforming. They seem to be doing so quickly in the areas that saw the most destruction.”

However, the outlook for some beaches isn’t clear. For the stretch between Fullerton and North avenues, where large sand trap bags line the shore to mitigate wave action, city officials have not said when the barriers will be removed.