Brian Willis: Brian.Willis@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Former coal lobbyist and current EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler finalized a new, dangerous environmental rollback yesterday, putting the health of thousands of communities living near coal ash disposal and storage sites at risk. The rollback weakens and eliminates important rules governing the safe disposal and storage of toxic coal ash, which were put in place in 2015 by the Obama Administration.
Those helpful safeguards allowed communities to understand the pollution in their backyards and began to hold polluters accountable. However, some electric utilities and the coal industry, in addition to the Trump Administration, want to put polluter profits ahead of public health and environmental protections.
In response, Mary Anne Hitt, Director of Campaigns at Sierra Club, released the following statement:
“As our country continues to move away from dirty, expensive coal power, and toward more affordable, clean energy, the Trump Administration is continuing to do everything it can to allow the worst actors in the energy industry to dump toxic, industrial coal waste into unlined, unsafe pits near important groundwater supplies and regional waterways.
“Since the beginning of the Trump Administration, the EPA has been chock-full of coal industry-linked political appointees intent on putting thousands of communities at risk in order to save coal plant owners millions of dollars in cleanup costs -- even if it means putting people in danger. This rollback delays closing leaking coal ash ponds and pits located in dangerous or prohibited areas. It also sets a very low bar to clear to keep coal ash ponds and pits open longer at coal plants that are permanently ceasing operation.
“The 2015 coal ash rule is currently moving towards protecting clean water and safeguarding public health in thousands of communities. We will fight this rollback like we have fought all of the other Trump Administration’s polluter-friendly rollbacks. Our bedrock environmental laws are meant to ensure healthy communities, and we will see to it that they are enforced to protect the most vulnerable amongst us.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.