By Melissa Hendricks, American Coal Ash Association
An hour past midnight, on the shortest day of 2008, decades of disposed coal fly ash slurry escaped its containment and spilled across 300 acres of land and into tributaries of the Tennessee River. Sunrise on December 22 illuminated berg-like clumps of ash punctuating a grey, eerie landscape. Three homes were rendered uninhabitable, 23 were damaged, and one was pushed off its foundation. Roads, rail lines, and utilities were also damaged. Fortunately nobody was injured.
The largest U.S. electric power producer, owned by the federal government, faced an unprecedented crisis. The Tennessee Valley Authority fielded hundreds of calls from reporters as staff attempted to accurately determine the scope and impact of the spill, establish logistics for clean-up, and inform all stakeholders, regulators and jurisdictional agencies. The American Coal Ash Association was engaged to assist with community outreach, providing expertise on the material and answering citizens’ and reporters’ questions.
Interest groups led by environmental attorneys spoon-fed media outlets with exaggerated comparisons to the Exxon Valdez spill and labeled coal ash “toxic” and “hazardous.” Soon after, Erin Brockovich and other notables descended upon the small, nearby town of Harriman, 40 miles west of Knoxville, fueling national media attention with hearsay claims of toxic exposures. A fear campaign heretofore limited to alternative weeklies and blogs was officially launched nationwide.
On March 3, 2009, a ready-to-wear network of 100-plus interest groups signed on to a letter urging EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to regulate coal ash as a hazardous waste. The day after, Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), chair of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, and Thomas Carper (D-Del.), chair of the Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety, introduced a resolution calling for immediate reviews and inspections of all coal ash impoundments in the U.S. and to propose and issue as quickly as possible rules to regulate coal combustion residues under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).
Over the next several months, the voices of coal ash experts and stakeholders were relegated to second stage as dramatic headlines originating from media savvy, well-funded interest groups appeared to subjugate the spotlight. The legal term “high hazard,” a designation for dam safety, was misappropriated to describe coal ash as a hazardous waste. The legal term “damage case” was applied liberally to studies with data and variables taken out of context, as documents filled with erroneous details were publicized with the intent to exaggerate and inspire haste. A litany of hearsay ailments related to “toxic coal ash” exposure was promoted as fact by the media without confirming final medical reports or checking the motives of sources.
Hundreds of letters flowed into the EPA from industry stakeholders…a 31-page letter from ACAA; letters from members of congress; letters from state governors, environmental regulatory associations, departments of transportation, public utility commissions; municipal governments, chambers of commerce, labor unions, state legislatures; more than 100 affiliated organizations; and many more.
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