Clean Water Advocates Mobilize More than 60 Local Voices Against Pruitt Proposal for EPA Hearing on Coal Ash

ARLINGTON, VA - Today, the Sierra Club and its allies mobilized more than 60 local community leaders  from around the country to attend the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) public hearing on coal ash, to demand national clean water protections from coal ash be kept in place. Local leaders from communities polluted by coal ash traveled to D.C. from states including IL, GA, IN, OK, NC, Puerto Rico, and Navajo Nation. Embattled EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has proposed scrapping the United States’ modest requirements, which include that coal ash waste pits be monitored through publicly accessible websites and that new coal ash pits are lined with waterproof material so that their toxic contents cannot seep into local groundwater or waterways.

“Once again scandal ridden Scott Pruitt is bowing to the corporate polluters directing his every move, which is putting American families at risk of toxic water contamination,” said Mary Anne Hitt, Senior Director of Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign. “Without these affordable and cost effective coal ash protections, the health of thousands of families will be put at risk, all so a handful of millionaire coal executives will not have to spend a marginal amount on basic safety precautions. As a West Virginian and a mother, I know all about this toxic substance and what it can do to the human body, and Pruitt’s decision to roll back these protections is reprehensible.”

Today, 1.5 million children live near coal ash storage sites, which contain some of the most dangerous known toxic chemicals on earth - like arsenic, lead, mercury, and chromium. These chemicals raise the risk for cancer, heart disease, and stroke, and can inflict permanent brain damage on children. As the waste product of coal fired power plants, most coal ash is stored in open, unlined pits near local water resources - where it can leach through soil and contaminate water that surrounding communities use for drinking, cooking, and recreation.

“Coal ash is a blight across the American landscape, but because of Pruitt’s actions, more families are going to have to switch to bottled water, more restaurants are going to have to shut down, and more parents are going to have to question whether or not their kids are getting sick from their house’s tap water.” Hitt said. “With his proposal, Pruitt is essentially denying that clean water is a fundamental right for every American. This is as sickening as it is reckless and immoral.”

At today’s hearing, more than 100 people testified before the EPA, and the overwhelming majority voiced opposition to rolling back the coal ash rules. The comment period for the Pruitt’s proposal ends on April 30, where Sierra Club and its allies plan to submit tens of thousands of comments demanding the current rules be kept in place.