Authored by: Lydia Courtright and Julia Peckinpaugh – student interns with the Kentucky Beyond Coal Campaign.
Over one year ago the Tennessee Valley Authority’s coal ash storage facility in Kingston, TN gave way – spilling over one billion gallons of toxic coal ash into the surrounding community. Even today, the devastating impacts of the coal slurry spill on nearby family homes and surrounding ecosystem have imprinted our memories. The incident also leads us to beg the question, “what happened urgency sense of commitment to remedy the issue so that other communities would be safe from future spills?”.
TVA coal ash spill Dec, 2009
We know that over the past year – since the disaster – the has EPA concluded that coal ash and other coal plant waste materials, are highly toxic, and should not be stored in wet ponds or discharged into ground or surface waters. According to the agency, coal ash contains heavy metals, including selenium, mercury, arsenic, and lead, and has caused documented damage to community health and ecosystems across the country.
Still, across the United States, our nation’s power plants produce 130 million tons of coal ash a year; enough to fill a train of boxcars stretching from the District of Columbia to Australia. And to our dismay, much of this waste winds up in loosely regulated landfills, with some storage facilities even reaching sizes of 1,500 acres (that’s almost one square mile of looming, toxic coal slurry!). Because these coal ash ponds are generally located along our nations waterways – upstream of municipal drinking water supplies – toxic pollutants such as arsenic and lead can leach into the water table – contaminating communities’ water sources and threatening public health.
At home in Kentucky – even as the EPA takes steps to issue new rules – our state’s Public Service Commission recently approved a increase that will be passed to ratepayers in order to finance E.ON’s plans to expand a massive coal slurry pond upstream of Kentucky’s largest, city Louisville. As young people living in Kentucky, we do not believe this is an investment for our future.
Kentucky agencies and most importantly, the EPA must treat coal waste as the hazardous substance as well as ensure that residents of communities impacted by coal ash disposal can provide input on how the waste must be handled. We need strong regulations to hold coal accountable and speed the transition to a clean energy economy.
In Kentucky and across this nation citizens are calling on the EPA to ensure that the coal industry to cleans up its act. Coal needs to stop polluting our political system – the EPA needs to stand on the side of public health.
To join us in urging the EPA to stand on the side of public health and the environment, you can contact the EPA:
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson
Phone: 202-564-4700
Email: jackson.lisap@epa.gov
Simply tell them you “support the classification of coal ash as a hazardous waste.”
For a map of all the coal ash disposal sites around the country check out this map.
This is a hugely important issue that I’m really excited to see some movement on. Regardless of whether coal is mined in your state, there are coal ash disposal sites in nearly every state in the country. Thank you for posting and urging people to act!