The US Environmental Protection Agency is currently developing rules to regulate toxic coal ash (or coal combustion waste). Toxic coal ash is the waste generated from burning coal. About 130 million tons is produced in the US every year and is dumped, primarily, in pits that have no liners or other means to prevent toxins from entering ground water or rivers and streams. Indiana ranks 3rd in the country with over 9.5 million tons of toxic coal ash generated every year.

Although the US EPA estimates that people living near coal ash dumps are 5,000 times more likely to contract cancer than the rest of the population, toxic coal ash has remained, by and large, unregulated.

There have been recent events at Duke Energy's Gibson coal plant in Southwest Indiana and Indianapolis Power and Light's Eagle Valley coal plant where coal ash pits have burst and sent toxic ash into nearby waterways. The worst accident was in Tennessee when a coal ash pit spilled 1 billion gallons of toxic sludge into the Emory River in late 2008.

The EPA is currently taking requests for local hearings. Please take action by e-mailing the letter below to the EPA contact listed. The request for hearings on this critical public health issue ends July 21, so please send your e-mail as soon as possible.

Thank you for your assistance.

Grant Smith
Executive Director
Citizens Action Coalition

Please address your emails, letters, and/or phone calls to:
Alex Livnat, Ph.D
Materials Recovery and Waste Management Division
Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery
US EPA (MC: 5304P)
1200 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20460-0001
Tel: (703) 308-7251
Fax: (703) 605-0595
Email: livnat.alexander@epa.gov

Just copy and paste the text from the box below and paste into your email. Please use this subject line: Re: Request for Public Hearing on EPA-HQ-RCRA-2009-0640, Hazardous and Solid Waste Management System; Identification and Listing of Special Wastes; Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals from Electric Utilities

courtesy of www.theclean.org

Stop Streamlined Mountaintop Removal Permits in Appalachia!

Right now, the Army Corps of Engineers is considering suspending the use of the "Nationwide Permit 21" (NWP21), which is a blanket permit for valley fills. NWP21 allows coal operators to get a "rubber stamp" permission to dump mountaintops into stream valleys, without considering the environmental impacts on that stream or watershed! The suspension of NWP21 would require individual environmental assessments for each MTR operation, slowing down the process and subjecting the permits to stricter environmental standards.

While this may seem like a common sense approach, so-called "public" hearings on the issue in Kentucky and West Virginia were full of hostile, sometimes violent, coal workers who were told that suspending NWP21 would take their jobs away. These hearings were supposed to be an opportunity for citizens to exercise their right to free speech and make their voices heard on the issue, but environmentalists were shouted down, booed, heckled, spat on, shoved, kept from entering or leaving the hearing and had their lives threatened! You can read a more thorough account of what happened at these hearings here. Video of the violent confrontations in West Virginia is available here.

What can you do about it? While the coal thugs might have tried to suppress the voices of the people at the hearings, they can't keep the nation quiet! Shouting, threatening and bullying do not get in the administrative record - comments do. Please take the time to comment, and state your support for the Army Corps' decision to stop issuing rubber stamp permits.

Click here to tell the Army Corps of Engineers that you support the suspension of NWP21 in Appalachia!

But act now - the deadline for comments is October 26, 2009. Some points you can make are:

1. I applaud the Army Corps of Engineers for its proposal to end the use of the one-size-fits-all NWP 21 permit which allows for a streamlined approval of mountaintop removal operations in Appalachia. For decades, mountaintop removal and valley fills have had a devastating impact on local communities, the economy, and our environment.

2. No grandfathering of permits should be allowed. Past permits should be reviewed to make sure they meet the spirit and intent of the Clean Water Act.

3. EPA's own scientists have determined that valley fills at mountaintop removal operations are causing cumulatively significant degradation of streams and riparian zones in Appalachia, including the destruction of ecologically valuable headwater streams and the pollution of downstream waters.

4. The impacts of mountaintop removal coal mining are considerable and permanent. The Army Corps should not issue any additional authorizations under NWP 21 while the agency finalizes the process of modifying the permit to prohibit its use in Appalachia.

Be sure to note your comments are Re: Proposed Suspension and Modification of Nationwide Permit 21 (Document ID COE-2009-0032-0346).

Thank you for taking action for the mountains and the people and communities that depend upon them!

courtesy of Nuclear Information and Resource Service:

Senators Kerry and Graham join forces to promote more nukes, oil and coal in climate bill!
Your actions are vital!

Email/fax now! Call in this Thursday, October 15!

The New York Times yesterday published a remarkable joint op-ed from Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Lindsay Graham (R-SC). Remarkable not because Graham became the first Republican to sign on to a climate bill, but because of the enormous price Kerry paid for that support.

Their op-ed calls for vastly increased support not only for new nuclear reactors but also coal and oil as well. Indeed, their proposal reads like nothing more than a wish list from the dirty energy industry. If adopted, their proposal would make the climate bill one in name only, and instead would provide a dirty energy bonanza that would rival the worst excesses of the Bush administration.

Here is a brief excerpt from the Kerry/Graham op-ed: "Nuclear power needs to be a core component of electricity generation if we are to meet our emission reduction targets. We need to jettison cumbersome regulations that have stalled the construction of nuclear plants in favor of a streamlined permit system that maintains vigorous safeguards while allowing utilities to secure financing for more plants."

You can read the entire op-ed here.

Note that the permit system has been repeatedly streamlined over the past two decades, and even NRC chairman Greg Jazcko admits the slow pace of NRC review of license applications is due to the poor quality of applications and their reliance on unapproved reactor designs. The only further streamlining would be an end to public participation entirely!

We all must act now!

If you haven't yet sent an e-mail and/or fax to your Senators in the past week, please click here to do so now! Don't be shy about contacting your Senators! Whether you've written them once this year or ten times, do so again. Remember: nuclear and utility lobbyists are contacting your Senators every single day. YOU are the most important lobbyists!

Please prepare for National Don't Nuke the Climate Call-In Day, this Thursday, October 15. A new support group for the Call-In Day has just formed on the GrassrootsNucleus networking site.

It will take all of us, reaching out as far and wide as we can, raising our voices as loudly and effectively as we can, to beat back this effort to nuke the climate bill.

For more information about this and other nuclear power issues, go to the website! Nuclear Information and Resource Service

Our water and wastewater infrastructure is in desperate need of repair. The American Society of Civil Engineers has given both systems a D- grade. In order to protect our essential water resources, create tens of thousands of green jobs, and safeguard public health, join us in urging Congress to create a permanent and dedicated federal funding source!

On July 15, 2009, Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR-3) introduced H.R.3202, which would create such a trust fund. While the bill is excellent in many respects, it should be strengthened to ensure public dollars go to public water systems, not to subsidize corporate profits of private water companies. By signing below, you can show your support for a Water Protection and Reinvestment Trust Fund that protects and strengthens our publicly owned water and wastewater systems.

Click HERE to Urge Your Congressperson to Support The Water Protection and Reinvestment Trust Fund!

Click here to track the bill's movement.

Congress is currently debating the future of nuclear power. As early as this Tuesday, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will take a "Sense of the Senate" Vote to set the stage for expansion of nuclear power in the U.S. Senator Evan Bayh sits on that Committee. Please call Senator Bayh and urge him to VOTE AGAINST Senator Murkowski’s “Sense of the Senate” amendment regarding the strategic role of nuclear energy. This amendment states "additional nuclear energy generating capability is critical for the economic well-being, energy security, and welfare of the people of the United States."

From conversations with CAC canvassers, we understand that many of you have questions about nuclear power, and some of you see merits in expanding nuclear power investments. CAC is convinced that energy policy in the U.S. and Indiana needs to avoid the expansion of nuclear energy, and instead create the expansion of energy efficiency, renewable resources, and distributed power. There are many reasons why, but the top of the list is the cost. Nuclear power is far too expensive to taxpayers and ratepayers. To read our analysis of why, click here.

Please call or e-mail Senator Bayh by Tuesday morning (June 16th) and urge him to OPPOSE the “Sense of the Senate” resolution that would build support for expanding nuclear power. Urge him to support the expansion of energy efficiency, renewable resources, and distributed power instead. These resources can meet electric energy demand much more cheaply and cleanly.

Call Sen. Bayh’s Washington, D.C. office at (202) 224-5623.

Email him via his web form at http://bayh.senate.gov/contact/email/.

Thanks for taking action at this critical juncture – your phone call will make a significant difference in the future of energy policy in this country and this state.

Grant Smith
Executive Director
Citizens Action Coalition