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Email this page"You flip on a light switch. That power is not coming from that light switch—that power is generated somewhere else. And it impacts people."
The Moapa River Indian Reservation, tribal home of the Moapa Band of Paiutes, sits about 30 miles north of Las Vegas—and about 300 yards from the coal ash ponds and landfills of the Reid Gardner Power Station. If the conditions are just wrong, coal ash picks up from Reid Gardner and moves across the desert like a toxic sandstorm. The film An Ill Wind tells the Paiute Indians' story.
Action: Keep Coal Ash Out of the Transportation Bill!
The House has passed a massive Transportation Bill, attaching an amendment that would prohibit the EPA from setting enforceable safeguards for toxic coal ash.
Take Action » Please urge your senators to reject any amendments that gut federal coal ash protections. The transportation bill is meant to ensure safe roads, safe highways and safe communities. Polluting it with amendments that will poison our communities is unfair to millions of Americans living near these coal ash sites.
Above: In 2008, residents all along the Emory River woke up to the tragedy of 1 billion gallons of toxic coal ash that spilled from the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston Fossil Plant. The spill covered 300 acres, destroyed homes, poisoned rivers and contaminated coves and residential drinking waters. (TVA)
112th Congress: The Fight For Coal Ash Regulation
Several bills have been introduced in Congress that would prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from properly regulating coal ash dumps, endangering public health and the environment:
H.R. 4348, "Surface Transportation Extension Act, Part II"
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a massive Transportation Bill, attaching a dangerous and irrelevant amendment that would prohibit the EPA from setting enforceable safeguards for toxic coal ash.
Rep. David McKinley’s (R-WV) amendment would ensure that the nation’s dangerous and leaking coal ash ponds and landfills will continue to operate indefinitely without regulation or federal oversight.
- Tr-Ash Talk: The Coal Breath of Betrayal
- Take Action: Keep Coal Ash Out of the Transportation Bill!
S. 1751, "Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act "
Introduced by Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND), S. 1751 would allow construction of ash dumps that don't meet drinking water standards for arsenic, lead and other pollutants; allow indefinite operation of unstable and dangerous ash ponds; shut out citizens who live near coal ash sites from permitting decisions that affect their health and safety; allow states to waive any health and safety standards and require EPA to defer to those decisions, and prevent EPA from ever revisiting a coal ash rule, even in the event of increased risk from ash dumps.
This bill is nearly identical to H.R. 2273, which the Obama Administration publicly opposed in a statement of administration policy.
- Fact Sheet: Senate Coal Ash Bill Leaves Americans in Harm’s Way and Fails to Promote Recycling
- Comparison Chart: Comparison of Coal Ash Regulation under Four Regulatory Schemes
- Take Action: Call Your Senators: Tell them to oppose S. 1751
- Take Action: Write To Your Senators: Tell them to oppose S. 1751
- On Our Blog: Congress Officially 'Friends' Coal Ash
H.R. 2273, "Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act"
Introduced by Rep. David McKinley (R-WV), H.R. 2273 endangers public health and the safety of thousands of communities by failing to regulate coal ash as hazardous waste. Despite the demonstrated health impacts, little is being done to ensure that the billions of tons of coal ash stored in waste ponds and unlined dumps do not harm American citizens.
Nearly half a million citizens commented to the EPA on their proposed rule to finally regulate coal ash, but Rep. McKinley's bill would ignore all those concerns and immediately undermine federal efforts to clean up these toxic dump sites.
- Tr-Ash Talk: Safe At Home With Coal Ash
Informational Graphic: Failing the test
The EPA developed new testing methods which demonstrate that the levels of many toxic metals found in coal ash are much higher than the safe drinking water standard. In fact, the differences are huge, kind of like the weight difference between a Miami Dolphin and a blue whale. Learn more by clicking the image above or reading an Earthjustice report on EPA's findings.
Publications: Earthjustice Reports on Coal Ash
Featured Reports:
State Of Failure: How States Fail To Protect Our Health And Drinking Water From Toxic Coal Ash
August 2011
· Full Report· Press Release
· Appendix 1: 137 Damage Cases
· Appendix 2: State Comparison
· Appendix 3: State Dam Safety Programs
EPA's Blind Spot: Hexavalent Chromium in Coal Ash
February 2011
· Full Report· Fact Sheet
· Press Release
More Publications:
- Coal Ash: The Toxic Threat to Our Health and Environment (Sept. 2010) - Full Report | Blog Post
- In Harm's Way: Lack of Federal Coal Ash Regulations Endangers Americans and their Environment (Aug. 2010) - Full Report | Press Release
- Re-evaluation of Estimates in USEPA Regulatory Impact Analysis
(Nov. 2010) - Full Report | Press Release - Failing the Test: Unintended Consequences of Controlling HAPs from Coal Plants (May 2010) - Full Report | Press Release
- Out of Control: Mounting Damages from Coal Ash Waste Sites
(Feb. 2010) - Full Report | Press Release - Waste Deep: Filling Mines with Ash is Profit for Industry, But Poison for People (Jan. 2009) - Full Report | Press Release
- Coming Clean: What the EPA Knows about the Dangers of Coal Ash
(May 2009) - Full Report | Press Release- Attachment 1: Surface Impoundments Analyzed in EPA Risk Assessment
- Attachment 2: Landfills Analyzed in EPA Risk Assessment
- Attachment 3: Surface Impoundment and Landfill Disposal Data Reported to the Energy Information Administration
Videos: About Coal Ash
Coal Ash Contaminates Our Water
Coal ash contaminates our drinking water and affects us all.
Coal Ash Contaminates Our Food
Fish are poisoned by coal ash, and sometimes end up on our plates.
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