Lindsay Mader, lindsay.mader@sierraclub.org
On Monday the Sierra Club, Earthjustice, and dozens of Texas residents urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to stop an East Texas coal plant from continuing to dump toxic coal ash in an unsafe pond that leaks into groundwater.
The groups’ comments supported the agency’s proposed rejection of an application by the Martin Lake coal plant, owned by Luminant, to shirk federal rules requiring it to prevent the pond from leaking toxic metals.
“EPA’s proposed rejection is absolutely the right decision here,” said Misti O’Quinn, Dallas area organizer for the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign. “Martin Lake should not be able to say its pond has a liner that meets modern safety standards when it simply doesn’t. A couple of feet of clay does little to prevent those toxins from flowing through to the groundwater, and the monitoring proves this. EPA must take enforcement action and require Luminant to install an actual liner in the pond or else stop using it.”
Martin Lake’s ash pond has just 2-3 feet of clay between its toxic ash and the ground. Luminant wanted the EPA to consider this the same as a hard plastic-like liner so that the plant could meet federal rules on storing coal ash, one dangerous byproduct of burning coal for energy. In its proposed denial, EPA said this clay was not adequate. Now that the public comment period is over, EPA will issue its final decision later this year.
The ash pond at issue was built on top of several older ash disposal ponds. The company’s own monitoring of the groundwater is inadequate and poorly located, but even this lackluster testing has shown the water to be contaminated with various heavy metals found in coal ash. This potentially puts human health at risk, especially people who swim and fish in Martin Lake. Sierra Club and Earthjustice are asking the EPA to require Martin Lake to stop using this pond until a high-quality composite liner is installed, a process that could pause the plant’s operations, which prematurely kill more than 150 people each year.
###
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of 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.