Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
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Three watchdog groups sent a letter Monday to Iowa’s Environmental Protection Commission urging action on the issue of coal ash disposal.
The Waterloo South Quarry, used by the University of Iowa, the University of Northern Iowa and Iowa State University as a coal ash dump. (Photo courtesy of Plains Justice)
In the letter from Cedar Rapids-based Plains Justice and Washington, D.C.,-based Environmental Integrity Project and Earthjustice, the EPC is asked to pass a motion supporting federal regulation of coal ash as hazardous waste; urge the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to draft a final rule that fully addresses the public health risks associated with current disposal practices; and draft a letter to EPA outlining some of the specific ways in which public health could be better safeguarded.
The EPA is expected to release federal guidelines for the disposal of coal ash some time this month. Last week, The Iowa Independent reported that a potential loophole in those guidelines — designating coal ash as a hazardous material if it’s kept wet, and non-hazardous if it’s moved to a dry landfill — has some worried that the rules won’t adequately protect public health.
The groups point out that there have been numerous instances, as documented by the EPA, of groundwater contamination from toxins leaching out of dry coal ash disposal sites.
In Iowa, four sites — three quarries and a mine — have been given a waiver from the state Department of Natural Resources which allows them to operate as a dry coal ash dump site without installing protective liners and without groundwater monitoring. Coal ash contains much greater concentrations of elements such as mercury, zinc, lead, arsenic and selenium than coal itself, but it is currently not considered hazardous waste by federal law. An EPA report released earlier this year found the cancer risk to be 1 in 2,000 from exposure to arsenic in drinking water for residents living near unlined landfills containing coal ash and coal refuse, which is 500 times the level usually regarded as safe by current federal regulations.
“We believe the time has come for EPC to take a public position on this issues, and we hereby request a motion be voted on at the December meeting,” the letter said.
The next EPC meeting is Dec. 15.
In July, EPC Chairwoman Charlotte Hubbell called on the state legislature to hold public hearings on tougher rules regarding coal ash. She said at the time that having the EPC hold hearings would not be practical because they do not have their own staff and are made up of citizen volunteers from all over the state.
Hubbell could not be reached for comment Monday.
Chad Stobbe, the DNR’s lead staffer on coal ash issues, said regardless of whether coal ash is declared a hazardous waste or not, if the EPA goes forward with the federal guidelines, Iowa’s four beneficial use sites will be forced to install protective liners, test groundwater for contamination, and provide financial assurances and corrective action provisions, among other provisions.
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