| "The people of Freestone county have every reason to oppose the ash that is and has been buried there for over 40 years. You should see the mountains created out of that coal ash there and Luminant always has paid ads in the local papers claiming how they have restored the lands back to it original state after mining the coal." Vicky Prater, Navarro County Texas. The EPA has proposed two competing rules to regulate the use of coal ash, a strong rule (C) and a soft rule (D), yet there is a glaring problem. Jeff Stant, of the Environmental Integrity Project: "The proposed C rule will not regulate the placement of coal ash in mines. We need thousands of letters demanding this loophole be closed." In a report by EarthJustice, "Waste Deep: Filling Mines With Coal Ash Is Profit for Industry, but Poison for People.", they note that "in the absence of federal regulations, many states allow dumping of coal ash into unlined mine pits, where the waste's toxic constituents can migrate unimpeded into groundwater. Dumping coal combustion waste into mines is especially dangerous because mining often creates conditions that allow for more rapid contamination of adjacent groundwater" "Minefilling coal ash is a slow-motion and invisible counterpart to the TVA catastrophe," says Earthjustice attorney and report co-author Lisa Evans. "There, the destruction was unleashed in a matter of minutes. For communities with water poisoned by the country's hundreds of coal ash mine dumps, the damage has been gradual and largely unseen, but it also presents a grave threat." Earthjustice estimates that about 25 million tons of coal combustion waste -- 20 percent of all such waste generated -- is dumped into mines each year. The practice is occurring throughout the U.S. coalfields, including West Virginia and Texas, and presents a serious threat to public health. So why wasn't minefilling covered by the EPA's coal ash rule? The problem lies in part because the EPA shares jurisdiction over mine filling with the Office of Surface Mining. But there's hope. If we can win a strong C rule (which we'll get only if we can overwhelm the EPA with comments and hearing attendance at the 7 hearings across the country) we will have set a strong precedent for regulating minefilling. By requiring that coal ash be placed above the water table (so it doesn't leak into groundwater) and in sites with composite liners and leachate collection, we'll be laying the groundwork for requiring those same safeguards in regulating minefilling. So step by step, we're getting there. 1) Tell the EPA you're disappointed minefilling isn't covered by the coal ash rule, and urge them to adopt the strong coal ash rule (C). Send a message to the EPA here. 2) Go to the Dallas coal ash hearing on September 8th. Transportation and logistics provided by the Sierra Club. We've got to outnumber the industry goons. Sign up to go to the hearing here. 3) One we get the strong coal ash rule, keep up the pressure on the EPA to make sure they work with the Office of Surface Mining to regulate minefilling. Even if Congress can't pass a climate bill, we CAN make a difference. FB: Texas Sierra Club Twitter: @texassierraclub |
