Beacon Hill, unable to walk and chew gum at the same time, allowed itself to become so immersed in secret meetings with Gambling Lobbyists that they have failed to act on pressing issues, including that of regulating COAL ASH.
Included in Environmental Terrorism, are the MASSACHUSETTS DIRTY COAL PLANTS listed below. I guess we can't believe we're exempt from having a comparable COAL ASH accident with this much ash hanging around.
BRAYTON POINT 190,000,000 POUNDS
SOMERSET 60,100,000 POUNDS
SALEM HARBOR 140,800,00 POUNDS
WEST SPRINGFIELD 40,000,000 POUNDS
MOUNT TOM 75,200,000 POUNDS
Whether it's MOUNTAINTOP REMOVAL, COAL ASH or AIR POLLUTION, COAL remains the dirtiest energy source, yet industry prevails, thanks to generous contributions.
From MINING --
Coal Mining
This industry provides the biggest source of campaign dollars within the mining industry, and has supported Republicans in each of the past 10 election cycles. Coal companies gave Democrats only 27 percent of their donations in the 2008 cycle.
That was actually a leap from previous cycles. Between 2000 and 2006, the Democrats secured a paltry 12 percent of these companies’ contributions.
From the Institute for Southern Studies,
SPECIAL REPORT: Two years after Tennessee coal ash disaster, still waiting for federal oversight
From COAL'S DIRTY SECRET INDEX
Tons of coal ash generated each year by U.S. coal-fired power plants: 150 million
Gallons of coal ash that spilled from a failed impoundment at TVA's Kingston power plant in Tennessee in 2008: 1 billion
Number of homes that disaster destroyed, damaged: 3, 42
Pounds of toxic pollutants the spill dumped into the nearby Emory and Clinch rivers: 2.66 million
Year that red flags were first raised about the safety of the plant's impoundments: 1985
Number of similar impoundments located nationwide: 584
Number that have been rated as high hazards, meaning a failure like TVA's would likely kill people: 49
Number of proven and suspected environmental damage cases caused by coal ash across the U.S.: more than 100
Chance that people who live near coal ash impoundments and drink from wells will get cancer due to water contamination: 1 in 50
Cubic yards of TVA's spilled coal ash slated to be disposed of in a landfill near Uniontown, Ala.: 3 million
Percent of Uniontown residents who are African-American: 88
Percent of Uniontown residents who live below the poverty line: almost 50
Times by which the arsenic found in runoff from that landfill exceeded the safe drinking water standard: 80
Percent of coal ash generated in the U.S. that is recycled for other uses, such as a substitute for fill dirt in construction projects: about 44
Number of such coal ash fills that have been linked to groundwater contamination in North Carolina: 3
Percentage points by which the average poverty rate of N.C. counties with coal ash fill contamination exceeds the state poverty rate rate: almost 10
Percent of those fill sites in North Carolina that have failed to comply with the state requirement to record the coal ash's presence on the deed: 44
Estimated cubic yards of TVA's spilled coal ash expected to remain in the river after cleanup: 500,000
Number of lawsuits TVA is now facing over the Kingston disaster: more than 50
Estimated bill for the Kingston cleanup, to be paid by TVA's customers: $1.2 billion
Year that Congress exempted coal ash from the federal law governing hazardous waste: 1980
Year that the Environmental Protection Agency first said federal regulations were needed for coal ash: 2000
In the lobbying blitz that ensued, factor by which the electric power industry's estimate of the regulation's cost exceeded the government's: 13
Year when EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson again called for federal regulatory action on coal ash: 2009
In the lobbying blitz that ensued, number of meetings the White House Office of Management and Budget held with industry officials: 30
Number of meetings OMB held with environmental and public health groups: 12
Date that EPA released the first-ever proposed federal regulations for coal ash: 5/2010
Length of comment period that will begin as soon as the regulations are published in the Federal Register, which could happen as soon as next week: 90 days
The Institute for Southern Studies contains an abundance of information worth perusing.
Note to Beacon Hill: Maybe you could pass the Bottle Bill while you're at it! That's a No Brainer wanted by consumers.
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