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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Trump EPA Weakens Coal-Ash Waste Protections

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Friday, July 20, 2018   

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Environmental groups in Tennessee are figuring out their next move after the Trump Administration this week rolled back some Obama-era regulations regarding coal ash disposal.

Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said the new rule will provide utilities and states more flexibility in how coal ash waste is managed, while ensuring human health and environmental protections. However, Earthjustice Senior Administrative Counsel Lisa Evans contends the industry will be able to operate coal ash ponds in dangerous areas that are known to be leaking.

"It allows them to accept more toxic waste for a longer period of time instead of closing,” says Evans. “It allows them to lift monitoring requirements. It lessens the scrutiny that would be placed on technical certifications. All in all, this is a great step backwards for public health and the environment."

Evans says nearly 95 percent of all coal-ash dump sites have contaminated groundwater with toxins deemed by EPA unsafe to drink. Earthjustice and other organizations are examining the new rule and considering a court challenge.

The new rule weakens drinking water protection standards for several hazardous chemicals, including lead, cobalt and lithium. And Evan notes it allows state officials to decide if sites are following regulations, instead of qualified engineers.

"What this rule does, therefore, is politicize the science, allow those decisions to be made by a person now who can be influenced by the industry, who may be in programs that are under-staffed, may not have technical knowledge,” says Evans.

She adds this is just part one of an extended effort to water down the coal-ash rule.

"We will see – perhaps this fall, perhaps early next year,” says Evans, “additional rule makings by EPA that will erode the public health and environmental protections established by the Obama administration."

The worst coal ash disaster in U.S. history occurred here in Tennessee, when in 2008 more than one billion gallons of coal ash sludge were spilled because of a dam failure at the Kingston coal-fired power plant. It covered more than 300 acres, damaged homes, contaminated waterways and killed thousands of fish.


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