Jonathon Berman, jonathon.berman@sierraclub.org
Trump Rolled Back Coal Ash Safeguards and Took Millions from Owners of Plant that Challenged New Protections
WASHINGTON, DC – About one million gallons of coal ash wastewater spilled from Minnesota Power's Boswell Energy Center, the largest coal plant in Minnesota, with some reaching Blackwater Lake, a reservoir of the Mississippi River. The spill was discovered Tuesday. While the extent of the contamination is still being investigated, the spill raises major concerns about the health of nearby residents and major questions about handling coal ash — especially under a possible second Trump Administration. Previously, Trump and the coal lobbyist then serving as his EPA Administrator rolled back major safeguards that curb coal ash waste, and new protections were only finalized by the Biden Administration in April of this year.
The Biden Administration’s coal ash standards were recently challenged in court by - among others – the operators of the deadliest plant in the country, the General James M. Gavin Power Plant in southeastern Ohio. The owners of the Gavin Plant are the Blackstone Group – a private equity firm whose CEO Stephen Schwarzman has publicly endorsed Trump and reportedly gave a Trump-aligned super PAC $3 million in 2020. The Blackstone Group is also one of JD Vance’s top campaign donors.
The challenge was thrown out by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. last month, but the risks to coal ash safeguards under a 2nd Trump administration are obvious, from this relationship with Blackstone to the proposals in Project 2025 to decimate the EPA.
Sierra Club National Political Director Sarah Burton released the following statement:
“Our thoughts are with the communities who have been impacted by this dangerous coal ash spill. No one in this country should have their health or safety threatened by corporate polluters who care more about cutting corners and maximizing profits than keeping toxins away from our water and our kids.
“Sadly, these disasters are exactly what we can expect under a second Trump Administration. Donald Trump has been absolutely clear that he wants to build on his record of throwing out every public health protection he could get his hands on, letting corporate polluters and Wall Street billionaires do whatever they want while he begs them for campaign cash. He shamelessly brags about his plans to decimate the safeguards, laws, and agencies that could prevent these crises and embraces the owners of the nation’s deadliest coal plant who tried to throw out common sense coal ash safeguards. We fully anticipate a second Trump term would be even more reckless and extreme.”
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