Will deadly pollution from power plants continue to wreak havoc on our rivers? Help us decide.

By Phil Dimotsis – DC Field Manager & National Program Intern Since May we’ve been hard at work in neighborhoods across the nation to “flood” the EPA with handwritten comments from citizens like you and your neighbors. We’ve been telling EPA how essential it is that they act to revoke power plants’ free pass to use our drinking water sources and recreational water bodies as their own private dumping grounds!  Take action with us today to let EPA know that we can no longer afford to let power plants permissibly pollute our water. So far we’ve collected over 20,000 handwritten letters, online comments, and drawings nationwide from parents, grandparents, and children. Look at those stacks!! They’re how we win such important victories. As a community activist engaging citizens every single day on the effects of power plant water pollution in the DC/Maryland/Virginia region, I see my work as a privilege and an obligation. I have lived in Virginia and DC my whole life, and have seen firsthand the effects of pollution near the New River, America’s oldest known river, and the third oldest river in the world. While I was attending Virginia Tech, I canoed past the Glen Lyn power plant, which holds coal ash that has been proven to pollute nearby groundwater.   Like 70% of the nation’s power plants, Glen Lyn has no limits on the amount of heavy metals it can dump, nor any monitoring for these health threatening heavy metals! I’m very concerned about this, yet optimistic that rivers like the New, Roanoke, Potomac, or Susquehanna will continue to be safe havens for wildlife, playpens for outdoor enthusiasts and beneficial drinking water supplies for future generations to come. Morethan half of all toxic pollutants discharged into surface waters come from power plants. “What did he just say?” If you’re asking yourself this, you’re not the only one. As I hustle through neighborhoods every day educating folks, I’m astounded by the number of people who don’t have any idea how disastrous coal-fired power plants have been to our waterways, or have any idea how the pollution gets there in the first place. Educating and empowering people to take action in their community, for cleaner rivers and streams, is what we have to do to make a difference. Take this opportunity right now to inform yourself about EPA’s proposal to limit these toxic discharges. You can also find out more about what we’ve been doing here! The pollution numbers are astounding, and the toxic results are highly visible! Are you fired up yet? Hopefully you’re ready to go with us! Enough said, let’s get it done before the EPA’s comment deadline on September 20! Help our nation’s waterways and the millions of us who benefit from them, here.