EPA Rules Will Lead to Cleaner Air and Water for Kentucky

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -Today, the EPA finalized federal carbon pollution standards for new gas-fired power plants and - for the first time ever - existing coal-fired plants. These critically needed standards will slash carbon pollution and improve air quality for families and communities across Kentucky and the country.

The EPA estimates the carbon pollution standards will avoid over 1.4 billion metric tons of CO2 pollution through 2047. The rule will also improve air quality by cutting harmful pollutants, including smog- and soot-forming compounds that cause serious lung and heart ailments, as well as hazardous air pollutants like mercury.

The EPA also finalized rules that will help ensure people across Kentucky have access to clean and safe water. One rule regulates coal wastewater discharges while a second focuses on coal ash. The EPA's final Effluent Limitations Guidelines for coal plants will prevent 660 million pounds of pollutants including arsenic, lead, mercury, selenium and other toxic metals from being discharged into our water every year through cost-effective and readily available control technologies.

Another EPA rule will protect the public from millions of tons of toxic coal ash sitting in old landfills and ponds across the country that were previously exempt from federal regulations. The updates to federal standards for coal ash, called the Coal Combustion Residuals Rule, will regulate coal ash disposed of in old landfills and other fill areas at power plants, not just ash in "active" landfills.

Coal ash is a mix of hazardous pollutants, metals, carcinogens, and neurotoxins left behind when power companies burn coal for energy. Utilities often dispose of coal ash by dumping it in unlined ponds, landfills, and mines where the toxic pollution such as mercury, lead and arsenic can leak into groundwater.

In response, Sierra Club Kentucky Chapter Director Julia Finch said:

"The days of unchecked climate pollution from fossil fuel power plants are numbered. In finalizing federal standards for carbon pollution from one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas pollution in the country, the people of Kentucky will enjoy cleaner, safer air.

"Safe and clean water is also a basic human right. For far too long, loopholes in federal laws have allowed coal plant operators to skirt regulations for tons of coal ash pollution, exposing communities in Kentucky and across the country to a toxic mix of hazardous pollutants, metals, carcinogens, and neurotoxins. As coal plants retire, companies must not be allowed to walk away from coal ash dumps leaking toxic waste into groundwater.

"Kentucky is poised to lead in the transition from a coal state to a clean energy state, and these rules will help us achieve a better future for all Kentuckians."

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About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.