Dear
In 2008, just days before Christmas, a dam in Harriman, Tennessee failed, spilling more than a billion gallons of toxic coal ash onto nearby communities.1
Now we have one week left to stop this from happening again in places like Greene Township, Pennsylvania, where a 400 foot dam is all that stands between the Ohio River and a reservoir of toxic material.
If the EPA moves forward with new rules, they will be the first ever, federally enforceable standards to protect communities like Greene Township from toxic coal ash. But Dirty Coal is fighting back, pressuring the EPA to adopt weaker guidelines that leave communities near the over 2,000 toxic coal ash dumps across the country at risk from catastrophic failures like the one in Tennessee.
Even without a catastrophic coal ash disaster, local communities are put at risk every day. Living near an unlined coal ash wet storage facility is more dangerous than smoking a pack of cigarettes a day.2
Why? Because heavy metals, including arsenic, lead and mercury seep into local water supplies, causing an increased risk of cancer, learning disabilities, birth defects, and other illnesses -- dangers the people of Greene Township have faced for the past 35 years.
Thanks for all that you do to protect the environment.
Mary Anne Hitt
Sierra Club Big Picture Campaign
P.S. Help us spread the word by forwarding this message to your friends and family.
[1] "TVA Coal Ash Spill Anniversary: 120+ Groups Sign On to Ad Seeking Federal Coal Ash Safeguards," Sierra Club Press Release: December 22, 2009.
[2] "Coal Ash: A National Problem Needs a National Solution," Earthjustice Factsheet: July 6, 2010.