Take Action: Tell congress to regulate toxic coal ash
Congress is voting on a bill this Friday that would leave our water sources completely unprotected. Our streams, lakes and rivers are being polluted on a massive scale by toxic coal ash leaking from unregulated, poorly constructed ash ponds.
The House of Representatives is likely to vote this week on H.R. 2273, a bill designed to maintain the status quo of weak state oversight and cut off a rulemaking process already underway by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. More than 450,000 Americans commented on that rule, asking the EPA for strong, enforceable safeguards from toxic coal ash. This bill subverts the public participation process and essentially silences our voices.
We desperately need federal regulation to ensure that a devastating spill like the one in 2008 at a Tennessee Valley Authority ash site does not happen again.
The disaster occurred when 5.4 million cubic yards of coal fly ash—the toxic remnants of coal used to fire power plants—burst through the earthen boundaries of its impoundment, spreading a six-foot wall of ash over 300 acres.
Congress needs to make sure that something this devastating does not happen again. The bill being introduced on Friday is definitely not going to accomplish that.
Please take a moment to send your representative a message and tell them that this bill is unacceptable and needs to be improved so that our drinking water is protected from contamination. We cannot afford another spill like the one in 2008, our health and the environment is at stake.
The House of Representatives needs to know that they represent us, their constituents that voted them into office and not the coal industry. Your voice will make a difference.
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