WASHINGTON - The E.P.A. (EPA) is hosting 7 public hearings on the agency's suggestion to regulate the disposal and management of coal ash from coal-fired power plants. EPA's suggestion is the first-ever national effort to ensure the safe disposal and management of coal ash from coal-fired power plants.
Each hearing will begin at 10:00 a.m. and continue until 9:00 p.m. with a break at noon and 5:00 p.m. local time. The hearings will continue past 9:00 p.m. if necessary. People who wish for a guaranteed slot to speak must register no later than 3 business days before each hearing. Additionally, walk-ins and written comments will be accepted at each hearing. The agency will consider the public's comments in its final decision.
August 30: Hyatt Regency, 2799 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, Va
September 2: Grand Hyatt, 1750 Welton Street, Denver, Colo.
September 8: Hyatt Regency Dallas, 300 Reunion Boulevard, Dallas, Texas
September 14: Holiday Inn Charlotte (Airport), 2707 Little Rock Road, Charlotte, N.C.
September 16: Hilton Chicago, 720 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Ill.
September 21: Omni Hotel, 530 William Penn Place, Pittsburgh, Pa.
September 28: Seelbach Hilton, 500 4th Street, Louisville, Ky.
The need for national management criteria and regulation was emphasized by the December 2008 spill of coal ash from a surface impoundment near Kingston, Tenn. The suggestion will ensure for the 1st time that protective controls, such as liners and ground water monitoring, are in place at new landfills to protect groundwater and human health. Existing surface impoundments will also require liners, with strong incentives to close these impoundments and transition to safer landfills which store coal ash in dry form. The suggested regulations will ensure stronger oversight of the structural integrity of impoundments and promote environmentally safe and desirable forms of recycling coal ash, known as beneficial uses.
E.P.A. has suggested 2 main management approaches, one of which phases out surface impoundments and moves all coal ash to landfills; the other allows coal ash to be disposed in surface impoundments, but with stricter safety criteria.
Buying food and other products in reusable or recyclable packaging can reduce CO2 emissions by 230 pounds a year, while recycling all of your home's waste newsprint, cardboard, glass and metal can reduce emissions an additional 850 pounds a year.
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