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We Energies Login has been quietly getting millions of dollars in properties next to the Oak Creek energy plant, in an region that has been plagued by polluted groundwater.

Due to the fact 2009, the utility has purchased 20 properties totaling more than $5.two million near the huge coal-fired plant around the shore of Lake Michigan, records show.

Residences on acre-plus lots now lie empty and shuttered. Vibrant orange sticks mark the driveways for snowplow drivers hired by the utility.



The properties are part of a patchwork across southern Milwaukee, Racine, Waukesha and Kenosha counties exactly where the Department of Organic Sources last year investigated the source and extent of elevated levels of molybdenum, a potentially harmful mineral.

Molybdenum is naturally occurring, but in addition is often present inside the waste of coal ash, foundry sand and from other industrial sources. Excessive levels can bring about digestive challenges and gout.

In recent weeks, We Energies Login began demolition function in the region. It razed three homes along Highway 32 - also called Douglas Ave. and Chicago Road - and tore down a fourth household on nearby Botting Road, in accordance with the company. At the least six much more residences are targeted to come down.

Spokeswoman Cathy Schulze mentioned the firm is trying to make a "buffer zone" amongst neighbors plus the sprawling power plant, the state's biggest, which can be a block or two away. It wasn't prompted by molybdenum, she stated.

"This has all been a part of a approach that's been unfolding for many years," she mentioned. "Neighbors who live in that location cope with improved