Coal Ash Chronicles: Archive

leafs:

In a recent turn of events, the Obama administration has given the EPA the green light to institute legislation which would greatly reduce the number of coal fired power plants. With critics and proponents on either sides it seems to be a good step towards trimming emissions.

What do you think about the recent regulations? Read more by clicking the link above.

-Bryan Villa

I think this is a pacifier for people who’ve noticed that President Obama has stopped using the word “coal” in his energy speeches. Old plants and those being built now and within the next year aren’t affected like people seem to think they will be. I’ll repeat: This is a pacifier to appease the masses who aren’t really paying attention.

Mar 29, 20125 notes

#EPA #coal #Obama Administration

“Residents have long complained about the ash; they point to it covering their cars and homes and worry about its effects on their health.” —IMPACT: After years of complaints, EPA steps in at Iowa plant — Chris Hamby, iWatch/ The Center fr Public Integrity

Mar 29, 20121 note

#coal #coal ash #coalash #Iowa #EPA #iWatch #Center fr Public Integrity

“Coal ash disposal problems: The toxic ash from coal-fired electrical facilities contains significant amounts of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead and mercury — all of which are harmful to human health. The improper disposal of coal ash has contaminated ground and surface water at over 120 sites nationwide and three federal Superfund sites were created by the improper disposal of coal ash. “A large coal-fired power station produces up to 1 million tons of ash each year.” (The Institution of Engineering and Technology) This ash must be disposed of and contains high levels of toxic materials that can leach or migrate into the natural environment.” —Op-ed: Let’s focus on alternative to coal — John W. Ray, Independent Record (Helena, MT)

Mar 29, 20126 notes

#op-ed #coal #Montana #coal ash #coalash

“

Mississauga residents want answers about a Clarkson park that may be contaminated after coal fly ash was dumped there 40 years ago.

No fences or warning signs mark Birchwood Park where a 2010 environmental report commissioned by the City of Mississauga points to potential health concerns and suggests residents’ worries are valid.

“No one told us anything,” says Dan Davis, who lives near Birchwood Park and had put down a deposit for a townhouse in a failed development planned for a corner of the Birchwood Park landfill. “Even when we were lining up to buy townhouses on land that could be toxic, the developer didn’t say anything, the city had no cautions in the (development) bylaw, the public wasn’t informed that polluted soil would have to be remediated.”

” —Buried ash sparks concerns in Mississauga parks — San Grewal, The Toronto Star

Mar 29, 20121 note

#coal #coal ash #coalash #Toronto #Mississauga

“Public Service Company of New Mexico and San Juan Coal Company will pay $10.2 million in a settlement reached today with the Sierra Club over claims coal ash was polluting water.” —PNM reaches settlement with Sierra Club — Staci Matlock, The New Mexican

Mar 29, 20120 notes

#coal #Sierra Club #coal ash #coalash

“

The State Pollution Control Board has been warning you about a closure of the Orissa plant due to mismanagement of fly ash. Have you received any communication from them?

….

Yes, this is a regular process of State Pollution Control Board to monitor the ash disposal as per the laws and we are aware of the situation and have already undertaken several projects on this account.

One the construction of a new ash pond, another is the disposal of fly ash into the mine voids and the third one is disposal of fly ash in the old abandoned stone quarries nearby. All these projects are at various levels of the execution.

Only issue is in the case of the lean slurry project and the construction of new ash pond, where some villagers nearby are asking for jobs in Nalco in order to allow the construction. We are in touch with the state administration and law and order authorities and the progress is slow because of this obstruction but the projects are going ahead. We have a plan in place for the month wise planning of fly ash disposal and there is no crisis.

” —Working with Orissa pollution control board on managing fly ash: Nalco — The Economic Times

Mar 29, 20120 notes

#coal #coal ash #coalash #India #slurry #pond #pollution #fly ash #NALCO

Mar 29, 201299 notes

Mar 29, 20122 notes

“

Rep. David B. McKinley wants to attach his stalled fly ash bill to transportation funding legislation coming before the House this week.

He noted if he fails, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would prohibit the use of fly ash in road pavement - a move that could drive up the cost of road construction by at least 10 percent, he added.

” —McKinley Seeks Move for Fly Ash Bill — Joselyn King, The Intelligencer, Wheeling News-Register

Mar 28, 20120 notes

#coal #coal ash #coalash #David B. McKinley #fly ash #asphalt #beneficial reuse #EPA #Transportation Bill

Play

Mar 27, 20123 notes

#Charlotte #coal ash #coalash #Riverbend #Mountain Island Lake #David Merryman #Catawba Riverkeeper #Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman #Charlotte magazine #science #Randolph Middle School #Ashley Phykitt

Mar 27, 201291 notes

“While we don’t expect Congress to do much of anything, it’s important to note that EPA will continue its work in terms of developing regulations in areas where it already has the authority to act, and I think we’re going to continue to see court challenges. We expect that EPA is going to have some kind of a standard for wells that use hydraulic fracking to obtain natural gases. I think we’re going to see new rules for emission standards for certain chemical plants. I think we’re going to see EPA take up new regulation of coal ash. EPA will be moving forward under its statutory mandates, which will have challengers arguing that EPA has exceeded its mandates or that EPA has not performed all of its mandates – always leaving EPA on the hot seat.” —EPA – A Focal Point of Controversy — The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel

Mar 27, 20120 notes

#EPA #coal #coal ash #coalash #Congress #fracking

“

Sometimes state regulations prevent coal companies from reclaiming certain areas, depending on conditions, according to Kevin Sunday, spokesman for DEP, Harrisburg.

For example, the Shen-Penn Stripping Pit is filled with water and is more than 120 acres in size and more than 250 feet deep. In July 1994, Kevin R. Brill, 11, of Shenandoah, drowned there, according to archives of The Pottsville REPUBLICAN. Sunday said Reading Anthracite had expressed interest in reclaiming the area with ash.

“The regulations won’t allow you to directly put the ash right into water,” Sunday said.

” —Planned project in Saint Clair among several major mine reclamation sites — Stephen J. Pytak, Republican Herald

Mar 27, 20121 note

#coal #EPA #power #energy #mining #coal ash #coalash #ash #Saint Clair East-North Port Carbon Project #PA #Pennsylvania #Schuylkill County

“Coal ash, a byproduct of the burning of coal, is contaminating waters across the nation with dangerous heavy metals like mercury, arsenic, lead, selenium and much more. Living near some unlined coal ash ponds puts nearby communities at a 1 in 50 risk of developing cancer—2,000 times greater than what is deemed acceptable. Every year, 140 million tons of coal ash are generated, but today, our household garbage is better regulated than toxic coal ash.” —On World Water Day, Take a Sip, Take a Moment — Liz Judge, Earth Justice

Mar 26, 20120 notes

#World Water Day #water #coal #coal ash #coalash #Earth Justice

“When asked why the county doesn’t test the lake’s sediment, Rusty Rozzelle, Mecklenburg County’s water- and land-resources director, said, “We had considered it many years ago but haven’t sampled it, I think, because…” He paused, then continued: “What will we do if we find something? I think everyone suspects the sediment is contaminated.” —World Water Day spotlights coal ash contamination in local ponds, rivers — Rhiannon Fionn, Creative Loafing (Charlotte)

Mar 26, 20122 notes

#World Water Day #Charlotte #food #coal #coal ash #contamination #coalash #Mountain Island Lake #Catawba River #sediment #pollution #drinking water

“The clincher was a $1.7 million allocation the city received from TVA from a fund to help the county overcome the effects of the disastrous 2008 coal ash spill at its Kingston Fossil Plant.” —Revived Princess reawakens downtown Harriman — Bob Fowler, Knoxville News Sentinel

Mar 26, 20122 notes

#TVA #Kingston #coal ash c #coalash #Princess Theatre #grant

epdenergy:

How can ratepayers and utilities best keep electricity prices affordable? Coal is often touted as a source of low-cost electricity, but some believe that coal’s negative environmental impacts outweigh any such benefits. Our analysis examines three different aspects of the cost of coal: coal’s impact on retail electricity prices, the estimated future cost of generating electricity with coal, and costs of coal generation not included in the retail price. By tracing changes in electricity prices in states that changed their energy portfolios we show that using more coal does not actually make power less expensive. States that reduced their use of coal-fired generators have not seen electricity prices rise, and states that increased coal use have not seen prices drop. Also, the estimated “levelized cost” of constructing and operating a new coal plant today is more expensive than generating the same amount of power from a new hydro or natural gas plant, and is comparable to the cost of wind power. Finally, the cost estimates for coal-generated power fail to factor in the “externalized costs” of pollution cleanup, medical bills, and environmental damages borne by the taxpayers and the public. When these costs are included, coal-fired power is more expensive than all the other generation types we examined.

Mar 26, 201210 notes

epdpolicy:

Now, keep in mind that President Obama mentioned coal (clean coal, to be more precise) in his State of the Union addresses in 2009, 2010, and 2011 – but not this year.

Mar 26, 20122 notes

“

The construction of the plant is scheduled to start next year and will be completed in 2015.

Rojas said one of the things they were seriously looking at was the consequential effects of the ash-fall at the catchment area of the watershed as a result of the operation of the coal-fired power plant.

Rojas said that part of the ash-fall would still reach the watershed though the SRPI officials were saying that the coal-fired power plant was safe and that the simulation of the wind velocity would not affect it.

“That is the reason why we are seriously looking into the adverse effects of the drops of ash-fall in the watershed area as this could contaminate the water thus affecting the health of the drinking public,” Rojas said.

He also said that the number of years of ash-fall in the area could contaminate or significantly change the quality of the water.

” —Zambo water firm fears coal-fired power plant might contaminate watershed — Zambo Times

Mar 26, 20120 notes

#water #Zambo #coal #coal ash #coalash #contamination #pollution

“

After power generation, coal and coal gangue turn into coal ash, which was also thought to be useless in the past. But the ash contains metals, including alumina and silica, which can be extracted.

To make better use of coal ash, an industrial park, focusing primarily on processing coal ash, is under construction.

” —Coal-rich city eyes green economy — Zhu Zhe and Sun Ruisheng, China Daily

Mar 26, 20120 notes

#coal ash #China #coal #coal ash #coalash #beneficial reuse

Coal Ash Chronicles

March 2012

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