The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to set federal safeguards for millions of tons of dangerous coal ash waste currently being stored in dry dumps and waste ponds. You can help set EPA on a straight course towards the first ever strong, federally enforceable safeguards for coal ash. And judging from the current proposal, it seems like the EPA can use our help.
Texas leads the nation in coal ash waste production so final rules could have significant impact in keeping Texans safe from toxic waste, blighting our landscape and polluting our groundwater. According to the EPA, if the weaker coal ash option were put in place, coal ash dumps and waste ponds in Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi, Montana, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and Wyoming will retain their status quo: poorly regulated, unprotected and unsafe. Even in Tennessee, where in December 2008 a coal ash pond in Kingston collapsed, spilling over 1 billion gallons of the toxic waste across 300 acres, will not have protections in place to prevent a similar disaster from happening again.
If you want EPA to hold a public hearing on the proposed coal ash waste rule in your area, you need to request one. Requests for a public meeting should be submitted to EPA’s Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery by July 21, 2010. (more…)
