Press Release from the Natural Resources Defense Council, November 04, 2019

WASHINGTON – The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to allow coal-burning power plants to dump more toxic substances into waterways and companies to keep open unlined, hazardous coal ash ponds.

The following is a statement from Jon Devine, director of federal water policy at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC):

“These two measures are the latest example of the Trump administration rewarding polluters at the expense of all of us who rely on clean water. These dangerous attacks on the environment and our public health cannot be allowed to stand.”

“EPA’s proposal on water discharge from power plants would expose millions of people to a toxic brew of mercury, arsenic, lead and selenium – pollutants that can cause neurological disorders and cardiovascular disease, and increase the risk of cancer. Coal plants are the largest source of these pollutants; it’s long past time to get them to clean up their act.”

The following is a statement from Becky Hammer, deputy director of federal water policy at NRDC:

“Coal ash dumps are already leaking toxic pollution into our groundwater supplies across the country. As the dangerous spills in Tennessee and North Carolina dramatically demonstrate, these toxic dumps are contaminating our communities and harming our health. Allowing them to stay open risks causing serious harm to public health, particularly in low-income communities and communities of color.”

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The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world’s natural resources, public health, and the environment.

https://www.nrdc.org/media/2019/191104

The pressure on utilities to cut emissions is coming from several directions, with shareholders, customers and some state regulators demanding that the companies take action.

Also, some of the utilities operate in states with new laws calling for a transition to carbon-free energy. Hawaii, California, Nevada, New Mexico and New York have all passed laws that set targets for 100 percent carbon-free energy production, or net-zero carbon for the economy as a whole.

In February, a group of institutional investors representing $1.8 trillion in assets signed a letter calling on the country’s 20 largest utility companies to set deadlines for reaching net-zero carbon.

“The climate crisis is an imminent threat not only to our planet, but to pensions systems, and ultimately, our beneficiaries,” Scott Stringer, the New York City comptroller, said in a news release about the letter. “Delaying climate action is like denying climate change—it’s not an option for these companies or for anyone else.”

Following this kind of advice is ultimately good for the companies, said Michael O’Boyle, director of electricity policy for Energy Innovation, a clean energy think tank.

“Retiring coal is not always an altruistic action,” he said. “It’s usually the economically right thing to do, and a lot of them have done it.”

Duke also faces criticism. The company’s net-zero plan was released at a time when the company had a long-term plan before regulators in North Carolina that called for construction of about 10,000 megawatts of natural gas power plants by 2033, more than double the renewable capacity it is proposing.

Philip Sgro, a Duke spokesman, says building natural gas plants “is critical to our ability to continue to retire coal and keep electricity reliable and affordable for customers.”

Considering that natural gas plants can operate for 30 or more years, Duke’s plan looks incompatible with the idea of net-zero carbon by 2050, said Michael O’Boyle, director of electricity policy for Energy Innovation, a clean energy think tank.

“Any attempt to get close to zero that also, on the other hand, involves building new gas is undermining itself,” he said.

(This may well be a major destination for fracked natural gas from WV by way of the ACP and MVP 42 inch pipelines. DGN)