The Beyond Coal Campaign and the Alabama chapter brought activist voices to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) on Wednesday, as the state sought input on proposed rules governing coal ash. Although a wide variety of environmental groups were present and testified at the hearing, Sierra Club’s members were the only volunteers to provide input on the proposed rules, which govern ash ponds and Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR).
Martha Steele, who traveled nearly three hours from Huntsville, urged ADEM to tighten loopholes in the proposed law, and emphasized the importance of clean drinking water. Rob Burton, a member of the chapter’s Beyond Coal Committee, encouraged the commission to remove potential “flexibilities” in the rule that would allow for weakened testing regimes if drinking water, and potential burdening of public funds if landfill owners fail to remediate toxic coal ash deposits.
The proposed rules are Alabama’s first efforts at complying with federal laws implemented after the nightmarish 2008 Kingston, TN, coal ash pond rupture.
The commission will vote next week on whether to send the final version of the proposed rules to EPA, which will then determine whether they will go into effect.
