Fighting For Protections From Coal Ash

For decades, coal ash has polluted our waters and our communities. We will not let polluter profits triumph over public health.

Case Overview

Coal ash, the toxic remains of coal burning in power plants, is full of chemicals that cause cancer, developmental disorders and reproductive problems. It poisons our water and kills fish and wildlife. But despite the threat, both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the White House have done little to protect the waters we drink from coal ash contamination.

After our long court battle to get the first-ever federal safeguards on coal ash dumps, these hard-won protections are now endangered. The Trump administration is now moving to pull back the protections outlined in a settlement Earthjustice won on behalf of ten public interest groups and the Moapa Band of Paiutes.

We fight in the courts for a long-term solution to this toxic menace: strong, enforceable federal rules protecting our water and our health from exposure to toxic coal ash pollution. And we act on behalf of dozens of clients and coalition partners to defeat legislative attempts to subvert federally enforceable safeguards of coal ash

We need strong safeguards that protect our health and our environment. Polluters don’t want to clean up their toxic mess and are pressuring the EPA and Congress to ignore this growing problem. But together, we can illuminate the coal ash problem and push decision-makers to protect the air we breathe and the water we drink.

The devastating coal ash spill in Kingston, TN, in December of 2008.
The devastating coal ash spill in Kingston, TN, in December of 2008. (Photo by Tennessee Valley Authority)

Case Updates

Boats are docked in the shadow of the coal-fired Morgantown Generating Station in Newburg, Maryland, in 2014.
May 9, 2025 feature

Toxic Coal Ash in Maryland: Addressing Coal Plants’ Hazardous Legacy

Massive quantities of coal ash are stored at ten power plant sites in Maryland. All but one of these sites include older ash dumps that industry is only now beginning to quantify and monitor.

The sun peeks over the horizon next to the Brayton Point Power Station in Somerset, Mass., in 2012.
May 9, 2025 feature

Toxic Coal Ash in Massachusetts: Addressing Coal Plants’ Hazardous Legacy

Significant quantities of coal ash are stored at three power plant sites in Massachusetts. All of these sites include older coal ash dumps that industry is only now beginning to quantify and monitor.

The Navajo Generating Station, near Page, Ariz., sits in haze behind Lake Powell.
May 9, 2025 feature

Toxic Coal Ash in Arizona: Addressing Coal Plants’ Hazardous Legacy

Massive quantities of coal ash are stored at five power plant sites in Arizona.