Groups Sound Alarm on Unregulated Coal Ash Waste
January 29th, 2009The Locust Fork News-Journal Joins Call for Action
On the heels of a massive spill of toxic coal ash waste in Tennessee and another similar incident in Alabama, 32 local and regional environmental organizations and other concerned public interest groups have called on leaders to take immediate action to ensure that our citizens, wildlife, and natural resources are better protected from these unregulated coal combustion waste storage facilities.
The Locust Fork News-Journal hereby joins this call and demands that it be heeded ASAP.
In a letter to leaders, the groups wrote:
“It is not acceptable to expose our citizens and important ecosystems to these hazards. These potential threats are no longer hidden from the public eye. The recent spills could be the proverbial canary in the coal mine for more spills across Alabama as well as for other environmental hazards related to coal-fired power production.”
“The negative impacts of coal run far and deep across our state,” the letter continues. “While there are many important solutions to consider long-term, creating a more protective and effective regulatory system for CCW storage facilities is an essential first step.”
“There is a major threat of water impacts since all of Alabama’s coal-fired power plants are located on or near a waterway,” said Cindy Lowry, Executive Director of the Alabama Rivers Alliance. “The hazardous materials contained in these collection ponds are detrimental to aquatic life as well as to human health when they leak out into our waterways.”
Neither the Environmental Protection Agency nor Alabama Department of Environmental Management has increased regulations on toxic materials going into landfills at coal-fired power plants despite after an EPA recommendation in 2000. At a minimum, these agencies should require these toxic collections be regulated to the standards of other hazardous waste facilities.
“One of many ironies surrounding this situation is that these CCW storage facilities have less regulation than our landfills that collect household garbage,” said Michael Churchman, Executive Director of the Alabama Environmental Council. “These industrial sources of pollution should be held accountable for the potentially dangerous chemicals they are collecting and meet stricter regulations.”
The following letter was sent to Alabama state and federal elected officials as well as the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and the Environmental Protection Agency.
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