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BALTIMORE, MD – Attorney General Anthony G. Brown joined a coalition of six attorneys general in opposing a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposal to implement a lax federal permit program for the disposal of coal combustion residual, also known as coal ash. The EPA’s proposed permit program could allow coal ash facilities to receive federal permits without necessary scrutiny from the EPA.
Coal ash is a form of toxic waste that is left over after burning coal at power plants. Coal ash can leach into groundwater near ash ponds or flow into nearby surface water when ash ponds overflow. Coal ash contains a host of toxic chemicals, including arsenic, mercury, and lead, that pose numerous dangers to human health, including cancer, cardiovascular effects, and neurological effects.
In their comment letter submitted to the EPA, Attorney General Brown and the coalition call on the agency to create a strong federal permit program that protects human health and the environment from the disposal of coal ash. Attorney General Brown and the coalition explain that the EPA’s proposal would allow overbroad general permits that would not require individualized evaluation of a coal ash facility’s potential for adverse health or environmental effects. In addition, Attorney General Brown and the coalition highlight that the EPA’s proposal does not allow for an appropriate level of public participation in the permitting process.
The EPA has found that living near coal ash storage facilities such as ponds and landfills increases the risk of exposure to toxic metals like cadmium, cobalt, lead, and thallium at concentrations far above levels that are considered safe, which can cause damage to human health including to the liver, kidneys, lungs, and other organs. The coalition’s letter cites the EPA’s own risk assessment, which found that risks to infants are particularly severe. The letter also notes that the EPA found that contamination from coal ash can accumulate in fish and contaminate drinking water with consequences including cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurological disorders, kidney and liver damage, and lowered IQs in children.
Maryland has regulations in place to limit some of the environmental hazards from coal ash facilities, but pollution does not stop at the state line. Coal ash contamination in an upstream state can travel downstream into Maryland’s waterways and groundwater, undermining the protections the state has worked to put in place. It is critical to ensure a level playing field across states so that Maryland communities and natural resources are not left vulnerable to less stringent permitting decisions made outside its borders.
Attorney General Brown and the coalition urge the EPA to withdraw its proposal and revise its provisions to create a federal permit program that ensures each coal ash unit that would receive a federal permit achieves compliance with the applicable requirements intended to prevent adverse effects on health or the environment.
Joining Attorney General Brown in submitting the comment letter are the attorneys general of Colorado, Delaware, Minnesota, and New Mexico.
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