(This is an excerpt
from comments that I made to Georgia’s Department of Natural
Resources board on June 28, 2016, in Atlanta.)
Cowboy comedian
Will Rogers said, “We are all ignorant … just in different
subjects.” Until I read John Grisham’s Gray Mountain in 2014, I
was unaware of coal combustion residuals (CCR)—coal ash. And when
I learned my hometown of Jesup was in line to get daily shipments of
10,000 tons of this toxic substance, I knew this would not be good
for our natural resources. Since mid-January, when we uncovered
Republic Services’ quiet plan to haul in up to 100 rail cars per
day of toxic ash, there hasn’t been a peaceful day or night.
For reasons we will
never understand, last fall the EPA decided coal ash was not
hazardous, despite the fact that it is loaded with numerous toxic
heavy metals such as arsenic, lead, mercury and beryllium. Ask the
people of Flint, Mich., what part of lead in their drinking water
isn’t hazardous.
Fortunately, this
DNR board can do more to protect Georgia’s 10 million citizens than
is required by the suggested federal one-size-fits-all EPA rules. We
all know that states such as Arizona—where Republic Services is
headquartered—has an entirely different ecosystem from that of our
beloved Georgia. That’s why you can insist our EPD have a unique
set of rules for our unique environment.
The fact that
Georgia Power, owner of one of the largest volumes of coal ash
anywhere, is presently planning to follow EPA guidelines and relocate
its coal ash away from water supplies should signal the liability
such toxic materials pose.
Georgia Power seems
to have no interest in partnering with operators of municipal
solid-waste landfills for the managed disposal of toxic coal ash. If
Georgia Power is worried, we should be, too. This DNR board can
fulfill an important part of its mission by keeping harmful coal ash
out of municipal solid- waste landfills and wetlands.
Today, we aren’t
ignorant—as Will Rogers said—about coal ash. It is a huge threat
to our air and our water. Water is one of Georgia’s greatest
assets, and that is why the EPD should go additional steps further
than the EPA.
• Coal ash must not be
stored in any landfill built on top of wetlands. Georgia’s
wetlands are a vital part of our water system, including its
aquifers, which so many of us depend upon for drinking water.
• Georgia must be
vigilant in making sure coal ash does not contaminate our drinking
water. The first step is monitoring drinking water wells that are
near any coal-ash site. North Carolina has already passed a law
requiring this. Georgians deserve this protection, too.
• No landfill should
be allowed to simply start taking toxic coal ash, as if it were no
more than ordinary kitchen waste and roadside trash. A significant
volume of these materials is a threat to water quality, and any
landfill proposing to accept this toxic substance needs to put its
case of safe handling before the affected public. And any such
change in any landfill should be labeled a “Major Modification.”
Republic has argued that its request in Wayne County to accept toxic
coal ash is a minor modification. If dedicating a large part of the
expanded landfill solely to the storage of this new toxic waste, is
not a “major modification,” it is hard to understand what is.
• Major modifications
should require new permits, after public notice, public hearings and
full evidence of suitability of any particular site, including all
precautions protecting surface water and groundwater from
contamination.
I hope you are
following the coal-ash story in Charlton County, too. I encourage
you to insist the EPD propose rules to protect Georgians from coal
ash. Furthermore, I recommend the EPD postpone permitting decisions
until the proposed rules are adopted by this DNR board. A good
target date would be July 1, 2017. That would allow the General
Assembly to further consider the looming coal-ash problem, too. In
the meantime, I encourage you and the EPD to open the proposed rules
for additional public comments, with hopes of an EPD-sponsored
hearing in Coastal Georgia.
We want to be quick
in finding solutions for the proper handling and disposal of toxic
coal ash. But we do not want to be in a hurry and make mistakes. Our
state should be the leader in how to handle this environmental
crisis.
I urge you to enact
regulations to keep Coastal Georgia—and all of Georgia—from being
branded as the nation’s toxic-waste dump.
dnesmith@cninewspapers.com
