Environmentalists call for stricter coal ash regulations
Photo Courtesy of Coosa River Basin Initiative via Georgia Recorder
By Emily Jones
WABE/Grist
ATLANTA — As federal regulators prepare to reject Alabama’s plan for storing toxic coal ash, Georgia activists are calling for the same in their state.
Coal ash is a byproduct of burning coal to make electricity. It contains dangerous toxins like mercury and cadmium that can seep into groundwater if the ash isn’t stored properly. There are millions of tons of it in states with coal-fired power plants, and following regulations rolled out several years ago, utilities and states are now addressing how to store it safely.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has found that Alabama’s plan to store coal ash doesn’t comply with federal rules and is proposing to reject it.
At a public hearing this week, Altamaha Riverkeeper Fletcher Sams called the action in Alabama “encouraging” for advocates like him in Georgia.
“However, in my state, we need EPA’s help urgently,” he said.
Sams and others urged the federal agency to revisit the Georgia Environmental Protection Division’s permit program for coal ash. They said the state is allowing Georgia Power to store coal ash in contact with groundwater, where it could potentially make people sick.
EPA has previously approved the Georgia permit program and said in a statement that Georgia EPD “has not finalized any permits that allow an unlined surface impoundment to close with [coal ash] that will continue to be saturated by groundwater after the closure has been completed.”
But advocates dispute that claim.
Testing by environmental groups has shown groundwater contamination from old, unlined coal ash ponds. Residents of Juliette, near Plant Scherer in Middle Georgia, have sued Georgia Power, alleging coal ash contamination made them sick. And advocates at the hearing said a draft permit for closing a coal ash pond at Plant Hammond, near Rome, would allow groundwater contamination as well.
“[State regulators] continue to refuse to pull permits that are very clearly not in compliance with the federal regulations,” Jesse Demonbreun-Chapman, executive director of the Coosa River Basin Initiative, said. “And so far, [EPD] appears set to continue to issue permits that would leave coal ash sitting and mixing with groundwater.”
In written statements, both Georgia EPD and Georgia Power pointed to EPA’s prior approval of the Georgia coal ash program. The utility said it’s “committed to closure plans that are protective of the environment and the communities we serve.”
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Dougherty Commissioner Gloria Gaines to serve as honorary sponsor of 2027 international conference in Atlanta
“By Alan Mauldin
[email protected]
ALBANY – In 1898 academic and sociologist W.E.B. Du Bois traveled to southwest Georgia during his summer break from teaching to investigate the lives of black residents in the “Black Belt” and later covered his sociological studies of the region in two chapters of his book “The Souls of Black Folk.”
The academic and peace activist’s visit and subsequent account was more than an intellectual exercise, however, according to Dougherty County Commissioner Gloria Gaines.
Du Bois’ account inspired South Carolina native Joseph Winthrop Holley to move Albany, where he founded the Albany Bible and Manual Training Institute. The institute later became part of the University System of Georgia and became a four-year college in 1943 before its last renaming in 1996 as Albany State University.
Holley was inspired by Du Bois’ writing, said Gaines, who will be an honorary sponsor of The International Conference on W.E.B. Du Bois: Race, Democracy and Global Justice in 2027. The conference is scheduled for April 9-11 in Atlanta.
“I am in admiration (of) his impact on the founding of Albany State University,” she said. “I also appreciate his political philosophy as well. He was clearly identified with Atlanta University and education.”
During her time at Albany State Gaines worked in the office of civil rights attorney C.B, King.
She holds a master’s degree in community development and worked as an assistant general manager for MARTA.
Her travels also have taken her to Africa, where she worked and met Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
For the 2027 conference, Gaines has collaborated with individuals including professor Preston King, C.B. King’s youngest brother..
Last year she traveled to Accra, Ghana, where DuBois died after he was stranded out of the United States for his opposition to nuclear weapons and had his passport renewal denied, for his 157th birthday celebration.
The conference will feature discussions of democracy, equality and human dignity, Gaines said
“Those are issues that were important to him,” she said. “Now is a good time to talk about democracy. Some may see it as under threat. I think this conference will be timely. It’s a timely issue, not just for black folks as well as human dignity and equality within the country.”
