Coal plants produce huge amounts of wastewater through processes like coal ash ponds and air pollution control equipment (scrubbers). These processes are good in the fact that they reduce the amount of air pollution emitted, but where does all this toxic wastewater go after it reduces air pollutants? The fact is that for many years now coal plants have been cleaning the air at the expense of local waterways. All of the wastewater produced has commonly just been dumped into nearby streams and rivers, so instead of breathing in toxins people are now drinking them. One company alone has dumped tens of thousands of gallons of wastewater containing toxic material into the nearby river, which is also the public drinking source. Also along with damaging our drinking water sources they are damaging important fish and aquatic plant populations.
I believe this process has gone on too long. I can't see how in our modern day "green" revolution companies can still get away with such harmful and careless waste removal techniques. We need to develop newer more strict rules that will help deter this from every happening again. The EPA currently plans to rewrite stricter rules for watery discharges from coal plants. This "plans to" has been a problem for the EPA in past years over this topic though. Fines for companies' blatantly destroying local waterways have been too low for many years now and the EPA has yet to do anything. A coalition of environmental groups is actually threatening to sue the EPA if they don't come up with stricter rules soon.
Therefore, something needs to be done now about this inexcusable problem. Not only does the EPA need to get going but regular citizens need to stand up for themselves as well. We need to do everything from protests to attending local hearings. In the end it doesn't matter who steps up and forces stricter laws on watery discharges from plants, it just needs to happen sooner than later.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I agree that the EPA needs to set strict standards for the watery waste from coal plants. I believe though, that before the citizens stand up for themselves, they need to research other federal regulations regarding waste water. I think that if the EPA doesn't come up with strict standards for the watery waste, then environmental coalitions should sue. This might be the only way to see change.
ReplyDeleteAaron! This is a great post! I’m actually really active in Mountaintop Removal waste problems which have devastated entire communities and wildlife throughout Appalachia. Your NYTimes article link about “cleaning the air at the expense of local waterways” could not be more true. This process of cleaning the coal with scrubbers actually means washing down the coal with water and undergoing chemical treatment so that instead of the lead, arsenic, mercury, cadmium and other toxic heavy metals being released with CO2 from our power plants, it is merely kept as a toxic black lake form called coal sludge or slurry. This “clean coal” waste is then dammed up in valleys out of public sight. The problem with these coal slurry dams is that they are not properly lined, so in many cases the slurry has leached into the groundwater and poisoned aquifer water for entire communities. Only 2 hours west of Blacksburg, there is town called Rock Creek that rests in the Coal River Valley, an active Mountaintop Removal site location. Approximately 90% of the people in the town have had to have surgery to remove their gall bladders due to the heavy metal poisoned water that runs from their taps. Majority of the children in the area have also developed asthma and other health problems because of the poor water quality. It simply is disqusting that such an injustice occurs so close to us. Massey Energy, a leading company in Mountaintop Removal has always cared for profit over people and is the culprit of much Clean Water Act violations especially when it comes to pushing overburden coal waste as valley fill in streams that run between the mountains. I also hope the EPA decides to take a stand against MTR once and for all. Unfortunetly, the EPA is a buerocratic government agency and the vested interests in keeping coal energy as cheap as possible for consumers have priority over the health and suffering of citizens in rural Appalachia coal towns. Ever since the Civil War and before that, the people of Appalachia have been shitted on and exploited for their resources. The presentation Alex Darr, Erika Hansen and I did earlier on Nationwide Permit 21 was an example of an EPA public hearing gaging citizen input so they could implement stricter coal waste valley fill placement. The three of us went to the hearing along with many local citizens who passionately voiced their opinions in support of enacting stronger Mountaintop Removal regulations for waste. A campaign called Climate Ground Zero is also a direct action group based out of the Coal River Valley that actively protests against MTR. You should check them out! Or get involved in an organization called Mountain Justice for regional environmental justice action.
ReplyDelete