Trump's EPA (sic) Will Allow Alabama To Do Whatever They Want W. Massive Coal Ash Dumps Next To Rivers
The Trump administration is moving to approve a controversial program in Alabama that could allow millions of tons of toxic coal ash to remain buried in place alongside the state’s rivers, even though much of that material is sitting in groundwater where it can leach into the environment.
The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday announced a proposal to approve Alabama’s coal ash permitting program, letting the state oversee the closure of coal ash ponds at its major power plants. It is the same proposal rejected by the Biden administration in 2024 for failing to meet federal standards. Alabama Power, which operates six major coal ash ponds throughout the state, said it is reviewing the EPA’s proposed approval of Alabama’s permit program. “We remain committed to complying with all state and federal environmental rules and regulations,” the company said in a statement.
The proposal would allow the Alabama Department of Environmental Management to decide whether utilities in the state could leave millions of tons of coal ash—containing toxic substances like arsenic, lead, mercury and heavy metals—buried in place alongside the state’s rivers, including the Mobile-Tensaw Delta, one of the most biodiverse places in North America, often called “America’s Amazon.”Today’s proposal would reverse a 2024 rule by the Biden-era EPA that rejected Alabama’s coal ash permitting program, saying it was “significantly less protective of people and waterways than federal law requires,” invalidating a state program that had already issued closure permits to coal ash ponds across the state.
EDIT
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/14072026/trump-epa-approves-alabama-coal-ash-program/
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