Sierra Club sponsors coal fly ash bus trip Sept. 16

The local Sierra Club chapter is organizing a free bus to transport interested citizens to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency hearing on tougher coal fly ash disposal regulations in Chicago on Sept. 16.

An “anti-coal” rally is also planned for the same day at 5pm in Chicago’s Grant Park.

Fly ash–the particulate waste from burning coal which contains heavy metals such as arsenic, lead, and mercury–is not currently regulated as a hazardous material in the United States. The Sierra Club claims these harmful heavy metals leach from landfill disposal sites into drinking water. The We Energies power plant in Oak Creek is coal-powered and produces fly ash.

The EPA hearing is on two possible new standards, one more restrictive than the other (see below).

The Sierra Club will provide coffee, beverages, and free lunch for attendees. The bus departs Milwaukee’s North Shore Park and Ride at 8am, the Train Station Park and Ride at 8:20am, and the Ryan Road Park and Ride at 8:50am. The hearing is 1-5pm. The bus returns to Milwaukee at approximately 8pm.

For more info or to register, contact Emily Miota at emily.miota@sierraclub.org or (608) 257-4994.

From the EPA:

“Coal Combustion Residuals, often referred to as coal ash, are currently considered exempt wastes under an amendment to RCRA, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. They are residues from the combustion of coal in power plants and captured by pollution control technologies, like scrubbers. Potential environmental concerns from coal ash pertain to pollution from impoundment and landfills leaching into ground water and structural failures of impoundments, like that which occurred at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s plant in Kingston, Tennessee. The need for national management criteria was emphasized by the December 2008 spill of CCRs from a surface impoundment near Kingston, TN. The tragic spill flooded more than 300 acres of land with CCRs and flowed into the Emory and Clinch rivers.

“EPA is proposing to regulate for the first time coal ash to address the risks from the disposal of the wastes generated by electric utilities and independent power producers. EPA is considering two possible options for the management of coal ash for public comment. Both options fall under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Under the first proposal, EPA would list these residuals as special wastes subject to regulation under subtitle C of RCRA, when destined for disposal in landfills or surface impoundments. Under the second proposal, EPA would regulate coal ash under subtitle D of RCRA, the section for non-hazardous wastes. The Agency considers each proposal to have its advantages and disadvantages, and includes benefits which should be considered in the public comment period.”

More info on EPA’s hearing: http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/industrial/special/fossil/ccr-rule/

EPA’s public comment period has been extended to Nov. 19 due to heavy interest.

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