Regulate Toxic Coal Ash as Hazardous Waste

  • by: Earthjustice
  • recipient: EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and the U.S. Senate
The EPA promised to regulate coal ash, a toxic, dangerous waste, after more than 1 billion gallons of it burst from a Tennessee storage pond last December, poisoning water supplies, destroying homes and threatening hundreds of residents.

But despite the threat, coal ash remains federally unregulated and uncontrolled. Our kitchen garbage is better regulated.

Coal ash can cause cancer, birth defects, lung and organ damage and other health problems. It contains such dangerous chemicals as arsenic, lead, mercury, chromium and cadmium. There is enough coal ash in ponds and landfills across the country to flow continuously over Niagara Falls for more than 3 days straight!

The law authorizes the EPA to provide strong protections that will greatly reduce the threat to our water supplies and our health. However, the EPA must use the strongest parts of the law in order to ensure protection for all communities threatened by coal ash disposal.

Your support is important because the coal and power industries don't want to clean up their mess. Tell the EPA that you support regulating coal ash as hazardous waste and prohibiting the creation of new ash ponds.
Dear [Decision Maker],

As you know, coal combustion waste -- commonly referred to as coal ash -- is a problem for dozens of states and hundreds of communities across the country. Regulating coal ash has been ignored for far too long. But you have said your agency plans to regulate coal ash by the end of this year, and I support your commitment to clean up coal ash ponds and landfills once and for all.

Please regulate coal ash as hazardous waste under subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The EPA should issue federally enforceable minimum standards that provide strong protection and nationwide consistency. And please require the phase-out of coal ash ponds; they pose unacceptable risks to our health and environment.

Thirty-five states are home to 584 coal ash ponds and hundreds of coal ash landfills. The spill in Harriman, Tennessee last December shows how dangerous some of these sites can be. Please stand up against industry pressure and regulate coal ash as hazardous waste. Our health and a clean environment depend on it.

CC: My representative in the U.S. Senate
Sign Petition
Sign Petition
You have JavaScript disabled. Without it, our site might not function properly.

Privacy Policy

By signing, you accept Care2's Terms of Service.
You can unsub at any time here.

Having problems signing this? Let us know.