Trump Administration Gives North Dakota Final Approval to Oversee Toxic Coal Ash Despite Concerns about Drinking Water and Health
EPA issued draft approval for Wyoming already
Contacts
Valerie Holford, valerievholford@gmail.com
Today, the Trump administration issued final approval for North Dakota to take over permitting and monitoring coal ash dumps in the state.
Lauren Piette, senior attorney at Earthjustice, issued this statement in response:
“This is a huge mistake. Overseeing coal ash waste should not be outsourced to state officials who have ignored the toxic contamination in their backyard. Seven coal plants in North Dakota have polluted the groundwater to the point it wouldn’t pass federal safe drinking water standards. Groundwater supplies drinking water and irrigation wells. It’s no secret this is exactly the outcome the coal power industry wanted. This is just another giveaway to polluters at the expense of people’s health and livelihoods.”
Scott Skokos, Executive Director of Dakota Resource Council, said, “North Dakotans deserve clean water and accountability, not a free pass for coal companies to police themselves. Turning over toxic coal ash oversight to state officials who have failed to address decades of contamination is like letting the fox guard the henhouse. Once groundwater is polluted, there’s no going back.”
The EPA recently gave preliminary approval to Wyoming and is also expected to decide on the same request by other states that have already applied or are expected to apply soon (LA, IL and VA).
Background
Industry data Earthjustice analysed show that the 16 coal ash landfills and ponds at eight North Dakota plants contain in total about 67 million cubic yards of coal ash. That’s equivalent to a football field piled over 6 miles high with coal ash. At seven of the eight coal plant sites, industry groundwater monitoring data reveal that coal ash has contaminated groundwater with hazardous chemicals above federal safe drinking water standards. These chemicals include arsenic, cobalt, chromium, lead, lithium, molybdenum, and more.
North Dakota residents rely heavily on groundwater for drinking water and agricultural use. According to data from state and federal agencies, there are 144 wells within 2 miles of the 8 coal plants. Of those, 125 are domestic drinking water wells, 15 are irrigation wells, and 4 are public water supply wells.
Four of North Dakota’s coal plants are located in communities with a low-income population above the state average.
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