Louisville Gas and Electric has withdrawn its permit application for an additional coal ash landfill at its Cane Run plant.

Coal ash, its storage and its tendency to blow onto neighboring properties have all been headaches for LG&E at Cane Run and the company is planning on phasing it out to build a natural gas facility.

The landfill application, which has been pending since January 2010, was dropped due to the slated natural gas facility and to the building of an earthen wall that allows the existing landfill to hold more coal ash.

“If we had not gone forward with the natural gas plant, we would have also had to build the extra landfill. But, being as that the natural gas plant will be online in 2015, we will have enough space there in the existing landfill if we add this wall,” Whelan said.

LG&E announced in May that they would be trying to maximize landfill capacity by building the earthen wall.

"It’s kind of like a retaining wall that you see along the highways. That will not change the size or footprint of the existing landfill, but it will help us use the space better," Whelan said.

The wall will be added to incrementally and as needed.

LG&E expects to save $54 million by withdrawing the permit for the new landfill, which would have been built at Cane Run near the proposed plot for the natural gas facility.