Finally Moving Foward on Coal Ash?

By Michael Kelly, Communications Director Coal ash is nasty. It’s toxic. It contains mercury and arsenic and lead (just to name a few). It’s polluting our water and has destroyed communities. We produce a lot of it – 140 million tons a year.  Yet, there are no federal standards, and the patchwork of weak or non-existent state regulations don’t protect our communities.  When it comes to coal ash, (as Earthjustice says) the Earth really does need a good lawyer and our allies at Earthjustice had great news on this week On Tuesday a Federal Judge gave the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sixty days to set a schedule to finalize regulations for coal ash.  This is huge news and Earthjustice and the other plaintiffs in the suit (Sierra Club, Waterkeeper Network, and other environmental and public health organizations) deserve huge congratulations for their efforts.  For years we’ve been pressuring EPA to protect water from coal ash and fighting Congressional efforts to maintain the status quo. Today’s ruling was a great win. Now, nearly five years after the terrible coal ash spill in Kingston, TN it looks like we’re finally on a path to protecting our communities from this toxic mess. We still have a long way to go – we need to ensure that EPA enacts the strongest rules and regulates coal ash as a toxic waste, but this is a great start. And we won’t just be fighting polluters. You can be sure that polluters’ allies in Congress will try to pass bills to take away EPA’s authority to regulate coal ash. That’s why we’ll need you. Click here to learn more about coal ash and find out how you can join us.