2009.01.07
Regulate coal ash
And we thought we had problems with fly ash here in Virginia. Tennessee knows what a real problem with fly ash is.
Actually, as a story in The New York Times makes clear, the entire nation has a problem with fly ash. Around 1,300 of unregulated fly ash dumps litter the nation. There are countless more areas where fly ash has been put to, ahem, "beneficial use" - also without regulation and usually without monitoring of nearby groundwater.
Fly ash, the dust left over after coal's burned to generate electricity, contains heavy metals and other toxins, yet the EPA has refused to regulate it as hazardous waste. In an editorial for later in the week, we'll argue for a long over-due change to that policy.
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There's a wealth of information and links about this issue at http://tinyurl.com/coalashstory.
Comment by Tim Thornton — January 7, 2009 @ 3:27 pm
Thanks, Tim. Lots of good stuff there. Also, folks on Twitter are using #coalash, so if you go to search.twitter.com and do a search for #coalash, you'll find a ton of good links and comments.
Comment by Dan Radmacher — January 7, 2009 @ 3:39 pm
I do not understand why there are no posts here from the same people who were so arrogant about the need to issue permits for the Virginia City plant.
Comment by Allen Bunch — January 9, 2009 @ 11:37 am
Finally! Somebody (namely you) acknowledged, in print, the fly ash spill in Tennessee. Perhaps I do not spend enough time crouched in front of the TV, but I've seen nothing on TV about this. And here I thought Erin Brockovich's visit would be a big draw. Thus far, zilch from TV news on the Jan. 9 Alabama spill as well.
I do not think myself paranoid to be wondering why. I will be at the Clean Energy lobbying event in Richmond Jan. 18-19. Just let them bust a 71-year-old great-grandmother.
Kyle Noble
Comment by kyle noble — January 11, 2009 @ 6:42 pm