Protecting Our Water and Health from Coal Ash

Most major rivers in the southeast have one or more unlined leaks, the coast is full of water, and the coal ash of the power plant is stored. These mines contain waste containing millions of tons of toxins. These have not been contaminated, but have leaked pollutants such as arsenic, mercury, antimony, selenium, etc. into the rivers and groundwater for decades.

SELC will force U.S. federal utilities in federal and state courts to clean up unlined, leaking coal ash waste sites and protect our clean water and people's health. When the state and federal government did not take action after the devastating catastrophic incident in Kingston, Pennsylvania in 2008, we began to enforce the law on behalf of local civil society.

In North Carolina, our case was settled at eight factories of Duke Energy and SELC continues to represent civic groups to purify or recycle coal at 14 sites of Duke Energy's non-leaky and unlined soot I will. Gray

In South Carolina state, the combination of legal action from SELC and public pressure urged all three major power companies in the state to clean the leaky coal ash pit with no leak of the South Carolina River . This is South Carolina Clean. Historic achievement of water

In Virginia, coal ash pollution has been discovered for decades from the Bremo site along the James River, the Possum Point power plant along the Potomac River, and the three local governments of Chesapeake along the Elizabeth River Virginia Power Company for decades. The Energy Center SELC is working to ensure that Dominion is responsible for purifying the storage of dangerous coal ash on these canals.

In Tennessee province, a lawsuit was filed against the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) on the ground that coal ash at the Gallatin plant contaminated the Cumberland River and was supplying drinking water to 2 million downstream residents.

Despite the catastrophic Kingston oil spill accident in 2008 and the Dan River spill in North Carolina in 2014, the US Environmental Protection Agency only implemented coal ash regulation in 2015. In this regulation only minimal protection is established so we will continue enforcing stronger water purification laws and pollution control laws in the US and the state to protect rivers and communities from coal ash.

SELC and its partners launched the SoutheastCoalAsh.org website to help the community learn more about community risks. It provides an interactive map and database of 100 coal ash reservoirs.

Since the United States Environmental Protection Agency has found that almost all coal ash ponds and landfills leak toxic pollutants into groundwater, we are finalizing the rollback of coal ash protection. The US Environmental Protection Agency 's 2015 coal ash regulation requires utilities to test water near the mountain of coal ash to ensure that dangerous chemicals do not leak to drinking water sources I will. Coal ash contains concentrated heavy metals that are released into the water when the ash is poured into a lined pit. According to recently released industry data, about 95% of the landfill contaminates toxins such as groundwater, arsenic and boron to the level that is considered dangerous by the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Today, our colleagues at Greenpeace China announced reports and photographic articles that documented coal ash problems nationwide. Their findings are very well known. The coal ash pool there is like being soaked with toxic substances in the US water source. As in our house, coal ash used for building materials may decompose and enter the human body. As it is here, coal ash is made of Chinese dangerous compounds. Like the United States, the Chinese government has failed to effectively regulate this major threat to public health and safety.

SELC will force U.S. federal utilities in federal and state courts to clean up unlined, leaking coal ash waste sites and protect our clean water and people's health. When the state and federal government did not take action after the devastating destruction in Kingston, Pennsylvania in 2008, we began to enforce the law on behalf of local civil society. In Virginia, coal ash pollution has been discovered for decades from the Bremo site along the James River, the Possum Point power plant along the Potomac River, and the three local governments of Chesapeake along the Elizabeth River Virginia Power Company for decades. The Energy Center SELC is working to ensure that Dominion is responsible for purifying the storage of dangerous coal ash on these canals.