Last week the EPA proposed denying Alabama’s unsafe coal-ash program for issuing permits, like the one at Plant Barry, because ADEM has failed to meet federal safety standards.
On September 20, the EPA will hold an in-person public hearing in Montgomery on the proposed denial. If the proposal becomes final, Alabama communities and clean water will continue to have the protections of the federal CCR Rule and ADEM will have no authority to deny us those protections. The national standards will be able to be enforced in Alabama without ADEM standing in the way.
We need your help and your voice. With enough public support, we can convince EPA regulators to finalize this proposal and ensure that Alabama’s people and rivers get the same protections as other people in the Southeast. Across the Southeast, leaking, polluting, dangerous coal-ash impoundments are being cleaned up, but not in Alabama.
If this proposal is finalized, community groups and EPA will continue to have the authority to enforce the CCR Rule at places like Plant Barry, where Alabama Power wants to leave more than 21 million tons of toxic coal ash along the banks of the Mobile River. Alabama Power will be accountable for its coal ash pollution in Alabama.
This is a chance to strike a blow against coal-ash pollution and danger in the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta. Let’s seize it together for the good of all Alabamians, today and tomorrow.
I sincerely hope you can join us to demand protections for clean water and healthy communities in Alabama. YOU CAN SIGN UP TO SPEAK HERE.
In-Person Public Hearing Details
Date: September 20, 2023
Time: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (CDT)
Location: Montgomery, Alabama
There will also be a virtual public hearing on September 27, which you can register for here.
You can stay updated about transportation options to Montgomery on September 20 by signing this Mobile Baykeeper form.
Read the EPA’s full statement about the proposed denial here.
Mobile Baykeeper is a nonprofit citizens advocacy organization headquartered in Mobile, Alabama. Mobile Baykeeper is dedicated to defending and reviving the waters of Coastal Alabama and Mobile Bay, including its watershed, and the groundwaters and marshlands that are connected to these surface waters. mobilebaykeeper.org
Photo: Aerial image of Mobile River with coal-ash contamination from Barry. 2015.
