Posts tagged Kentucky
Stories about America's second-largest waste stream.
Hey Kentucky!
This coal ash fine is for you …
TwitPic of Duke Energy rep displaying coal ash samples
#coalash Tammy Jett shares samples of the three types of coal ash that Duke Energy systems produce. twitter.com/OKIRCOG/status…
— OH-KY-IN RCOG (@OKIRCOG) April 3, 2013
LG&E has another problem with that cave in Trimble County that’s been holding up construction of a coal ash landfill.
It may have been a hiding place for the Underground Railroad, a network that helped slaves move from the South to freedom in Northern states in the 1800s.
“In the opinion of this investigator, the ‘Wentworth Lime Cave’ serves as a very real example of a ‘holding’ or way station to aid slave escapes along the Ohio River,” concluded Alicestyne Turley, a historian and contractor hired by LG&E consultants to review markings found inside the cave.
…
Inscriptions on the cave may have been written by slaves or others, providing evidence of their presence there, or even directions to a church, she concluded.
As things go, I happen to be reading a book about the Underground Railroad which was written by my great-great-great uncle, Levi Coffin. (And you can, too, it’s online here.)
In chapter 13, Coffin describes an escaped slave hiding out in a cave near both Louisville, K.Y., and the Ohio River.
Is it the same cave? I have no idea.
Will the energy company fill it with coal ash if the cave is found to be, without a doubt, part of the Underground Railroad? It’s hard to say.
Here’s one more quote from the article:
Lauren McGrath, a Sierra Club representative who is following the issue, urged the company to preserve the cave.
“Sure, LG&E can legally choose to destroy the cave, but LG&E’s leadership can also choose to act with dignity and deference to an extremely powerful historical and cultural site by preserving that area,” she said. “Doing anything less would be morally appalling.”
Big Sandy also maintains a sprawling coal ash pit near the plant, created to store waste ash after the coal is burned, that the E.P.A. recently listed as one of 45 “high hazard” pits nationwide. That means it “will probably cause loss of human life,” the E.P.A. says, if a serious accident occurs. In Tennessee in 2008, a billion gallons of slurry from a coal ash pit washed out area homes and streams, though no deaths resulted.
Fossil Fuel Subsidies Run Rampant at the State Level
Last week was a big, mixed week for coal ash
Coal ash made a lot of headlines this week, and here they are (with brief summaries):
“Coal Ash Recycling Rate Is Lagging, Says Industry Group” — POWER magazine
Regulatory uncertainty concerning the disposal of coal ash has stalled coal ash recycling in the U.S. and kept levels below those reported in 2008 for a third consecutive year, suggests a new report from the American Coal Ash Association (ACAA).
The American Coal Ash Association wasn’t in the news for this, but it’s worth noting: It’s Twitter account for the 2013 World of Coal Ash Conference is active @WOCA2013. The conference will be held in Lexington, KY, April 22-25, 2013. The registration fees are $750.00* per person (before March 22, 2013).
The Associated Press and The Huffington Post ran an article alleging that “Coal Slurry Pond Dangers May Increase As Companies Ignore Construction Standards” in the midst of a recovery effort in West Virginia. Last week, a worker for Consol Energy was helping to expand a coal slurry pond when both he and his bulldozer fell into the lagoon. The worker has been missing for more than a week. Read the article here.
Forbes magazine and the American Coal Council posted on its “Coal Blog” that it expects the Obama administration, via the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to further weaken its stance on coal ash regulations. Read the article here (dated Nov. 19, 2012), and the ACC’s blog post here (dated Dec. 4, 2012).
In contrary news, the S.S. Badger — a coal-powered car ferry on Lake Michigan, was a loser in Congress this week, according to The Chicago Tribune: “Badger ferry loses this round: Congress dumps special legislation for coal-fired ship.”
In different-state-difference-stance news: North Carolina’s Environmental Management Committee rejected a group of environmentalists’ push to force the state’s coal industry — which in N.C. boils down to Duke Energy — to clean up coal ash ponds that have contaminated groundwater. (There are 14.) From The (Raleigh) News & Observer: “N.C. board rejects coal-ash pit cleanup.”
And, in Michigan, environmentalists spoke out against House Bill 5953. (Read a draft of the bill here.) Watch:
*Help Rhiannon attend the 2013 World of Coal Ash conference by donating to Coal Ash Chronicles here.
Huge, mixed week for coal ash
Coal ash made a lot of headlines this week, and here they are (with brief summaries):
“Coal Ash Recycling Rate Is Lagging, Says Industry Group” — POWER magazine
Regulatory uncertainty concerning the disposal of coal ash has stalled coal ash recycling in the U.S. and kept levels below those reported in 2008 for a third consecutive year, suggests a new report from the American Coal Ash Association (ACAA).
The American Coal Ash Association wasn’t in the news for this, but it’s worth noting: It’s Twitter account for the 2013 World of Coal Ash Conference is active @WOCA2013. The conference will be held in Lexington, KY, April 22-25, 2013. The registration fees are $750.00* per person (before March 22, 2013).
The Associated Press and The Huffington Post ran an article alleging that “Coal Slurry Pond Dangers May Increase As Companies Ignore Construction Standards” in the midst of a recovery effort in West Virginia. Last week, a worker for Consol Energy was helping to expand a coal slurry pond when both he and his bulldozer fell into the lagoon. The worker has been missing for more than a week. Read the article here.
Forbes magazine and the American Coal Council posted on its “Coal Blog” that it expects the Obama administration, via the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to further weaken its stance on coal ash regulations. Read the article here (dated Nov. 19, 2012), and the ACC’s blog post here (dated Dec. 4, 2012).
In contrary news, the S.S. Badger — a coal-powered car ferry on Lake Michigan, was a loser in Congress this week, according to The Chicago Tribune: “Badger ferry loses this round: Congress dumps special legislation for coal-fired ship.”
In different-state-difference-stance news: North Carolina’s Environmental Management Committee rejected a group of environmentalists’ push to force the state’s coal industry — which in N.C. boils down to Duke Energy — to clean up coal ash ponds that have contaminated groundwater. (There are 14.) From The (Raleigh) News & Observer: “N.C. board rejects coal-ash pit cleanup.”
And, in Michigan, environmentalists spoke out against House Bill 5953. (Read a draft of the bill here.) Watch:
*Help Rhiannon attend the 2013 World of Coal Ash conference by donating to Coal Ash Chronicles here.
LG&E coal sludge plant experiences another malfunction - WDRB Channel 41, Louisville, Kentucky
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has had tell the LG&E to stop construction activities where it wants to put a coal combustion waste landfill near its Trimble County power plant.
A couple of months ago, some neighbors heard and saw some construction activity and notified authorities with the Corps, which is reviewing the proposal to make sure it complies with the Clean Water Act and other federal laws.
Lee Anne Devine, a Louisville-based regulatory chief for the federal agency, told me today that the site was inspected then, and the corps found some work being done on transmission lines in the area.
“They don’t have a permit,” Devine told me. “Their whole project is within our scope. They weren’t impacting any U.S. waters, but they need to comply with all federal laws before they are working on that project.”
(Source: blogs.courier-journal.com)
Black dust from the giant coal ash heap across the street from Kathy Little’s Louisville home swirls in the wind, coating her windows, her car, and blows indoors to settle on the furniture.
…
“It’s a constant struggle and it’s a sad situation because there’s not a lot of people that know that goliath is over there,” Little said of the ash dump near her home — at Louisville Gas & Electric’s Cane Run Station.
