As of October 23, the Environmental Protection Agency is holding 11 Public Listening Sessions across the country to solicit ideas and input from the public about the best approaches to reducing carbon pollution from existing power plants. President Obama has tasked the EPA with coming up with regulations for these plants by next summer.
Continue reading
As the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on President Obama’s Affordable Care Act came down today, I was reminded of how remarkable our justice system really is. It’s a system of finely-tuned checks and balances that determine every branch of government’s role and boundaries within the Constitution. Regardless of your own personal beliefs about the validity of said law, we can all applaud the foundation upon which our country rests…the rule of law. Where facts still matter and justice prevails.
The United States Supreme Court is hearing oral argument today in the case of AEP, et al vs. Connecticut, et al. This case was brought three years ago by eight states, New York City and three different land trusts against five major power producers in the Midwest and East Coast. The claim was that by operating coal-fired power plants, and emitting dangerous greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, these companies were creating a public nuisance that states must address with state resources. Therefore, to remedy this public nuisance, these companies would have to comply with a court ordered mandate to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from these facilities by certain percentages over the next 10 years. Effectively, a cap on carbon dioxide from coal-fired power plants established by the courts, not Congress or EPA.
The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals found for the states in this case. The power companies appealed to the US Supreme Court and the high court granted the appeal last summer. Because Justice Sotomayor was on the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals when the case was heard, she has recused herself from the case. I don’t think that the high court will find for the states in this case, because they think that the EPA and/or Congress
Last month, Virginia Beach residents visited Senator Webb’s district office defending the EPA. Now today, legislators will likely act on several measures attacking the agency’s authority.
Over the past few weeks, citizens from across Virginia have shown their solidarity with communities where pollution hits folks hardest. We still have time to echo their powerful message to our legislators: oppose any efforts to block the EPA’s ability to protect our waterways pollution from fossil fuels.
This afternoon, the U.S Senate and House of Representatives are considering amendments that would gut the EPA. If you have not called your Senators, you can still help fight against these attacks on the Clean Air Act by asking your Senators to renew their commitment to protecting the EPA. Take action now– http://wiseenergyforvirginia.org/call/
Update: HB 1438 will be voted on by the full Virginia House of Delegates TODAY (Wednesday)! Continue reading
Toxic coal ash has been threatening lives, communities and impacting health across this country with little to no regulation for far too long.
Families and kids rallied outside the EPA this morning to urge them to keep children and communities safe from toxic coal ash that needs to be regulated. With just two days left before the end of the public comment period on choices between regulations, today CCAN helped with the Sierra Club to pull out all the stops in support of Subtitle C
This is written by Jeff Biggers and crossposted from The Huffington Post.
In one of the most bizarre Big Coal public relations ads yet, online readers of the Washington Post today were forced to view a fatuous “clean coal” ad prior to viewing an extraordinary photo galley on “Death at American coal mines.”
In an excellent and in-depth look into regulatory failure, Post reporters David A. Fahrenthold and Kimberly Kindy examine nine deaths in various mines since the Upper Big Branch disaster in April. The Post reporters conclude: “For safety experts and miners’ families, these recent disasters tell a familiar story: Enforcement efforts have been hampered by a backlogged appeals system and the lack of penalty for repeat offenders. The new federal crackdown still couldn’t ensure safe conditions underground.”
Even more notable: An estimated 450-500 coal miners have died from black lung disease in the last six months, according to figures from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. In one of the most scandalous crises in workplace safety in the United States, over 10,000 coal miners have died needlessly from black lung disease (from the inhalation of coal dust) in the last decade.
Black lung disease was first diagnosed in 1831. Coal mining communities wait todayfor new rules and stricter enforcement procedures.
Why are coal miners still dying today?
This is a guest post by Jason Von-Kundra, a student at George Mason University. It is crossposted from the Mason Goes Green blog.
On Monday, August 30th, the Environmental Protection Agency held its first public hearing on a proposal to address risks of unsafe coal ash disposal. The EPA is proposing an unprecedented national rule to ensure the safe disposal and management of coal ash from coal-fired power plants. Students from George Mason, Virginia Tech, and University of Maryland joined hundreds of other citizens at the hearing in Arlington, VA to deliver statements in support of strict regulation of this hazardous waste.
Coal is dirty from mining to burning. Coal ash, a byproduct of the combustion of coal at power plants contains contaminants such as mercury, cadmium and arsenic, which are associated with cancer and various other serious health effects. Coal ash is disposed of in liquid form at large surface impoundments and in solid form at landfills. The dangers associated with structurally unsafe coal ash impoundments came to national attention in 2008 when an impoundment holding disposed waste ash broke open, creating a massive spill in Kingston that covered millions of cubic yards of land and river. The spill displaced residents, required hundreds of millions of dollars in cleanup costs and caused widespread environmental damage.
In testimony at the hearing, GMU student Emily Miles criticized the coal industry for “continually putting profits over people”. She urged the EPA to regulate the coal industry to limit their destruction. “As a concerned citizen, I am here today to tell the EPA to do its job and protect people and the environment.” Kara Dodson, a student at Virginia Tech working on their Beyond Coal Campaign, described the negative health effects that coal ash from her campus’ coal-fired power plant has on students. Jason Von Kundra, an earth science major at Mason, delivered a statement urging the EPA to put stricter regulation on the coal industry to embrace the “clean energy economy that our country and our president are calling for”.
Six more hearing on the proposed rule to address coal ash are scheduled for September. Public comments may also be submitted by email to rcra-docket@epa.gov and should be identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-RCRA-2009-0640. Continue reading
Judy Bonds may not be physically present when thousands of people take action September 27th in Washington, D.C. to demand an end to mountaintop removal and strip mining, and that would be a real shame. If there is one person who has done more in their life to shake up the coal barons and, in her words, “put them on the ropes,” it’s Judy Bonds, co-director of Coal River Mountain Watch.
Judy may not be there because she learned last month that she has stage three cancer. Treatment will take at least three months.
There’s no question, however, that Judy will be there in spirit, and that her spirit is guiding the growing Appalachia Rising coalition (http://www.appalachiarising.org). This coalition is organizing a two-day “Voices of the Mountains” conference the weekend of September 25-26 followed by a mass demonstration on Monday the 27th.
Continue reading
Over the past few weeks, citizens from across Virginia have shown their solidarity with communities where pollution hits folks hardest. We still have time to echo their powerful message to our legislators: