CBS FAKE reporting on Puerto Rico Coal Ash
(part 1 of 2)
Saw a CBS News story on Pureto Rico shipping coal ash to Florida and the impact from President Trump ruling back regulations. Research shows the CBS narrative is false - FAKE.
From the PBS story, the AES coal plant in Puerto Rico began operation in 2002. Coal ash was approved for use in aggregate for road construction and concrete from 2004 to 2012. Story quotes "A 2014 Environmental Protection Agency ruling regulated coal ash as non-hazardous solid waste." The story cites university studies linking coal ash to asthma and lung cancer. The story fails to mention the study concerned dust. AES was continuing to solidify the ash (agremax) for proper landfill disposal.
The media/left cite rule back of regulations. Coal ash regulations have not been ruled back to prior standards. In fact some details are More stringent. As the Earth Justice article states"
"Beginning in 2018, coal-fired electric utilities were compelled to publicly report groundwater monitoring data for the first time ever, following transparency requirements imposed by federal coal ash regulations, known formally as the Coal Combustion Residuals Rule." The article discusses toxic leachiing of metals from coal ash stockpiles and older unlined containment dumps. In the case of AES, coal ash was being converted to agremax, reducing coal ash dust on site and potential leaching. Since 2018, increased ground water monitoring is required by the EPA.
The EPA has a specific page on coal ash regulations and disposal. In addition states have specific rules on coal ash retainmaint and water quality standards specific to the area. The federal water quality and pollution discharge regulations (such as RCRA and NPDES permitting) have applied and still apply for any conatinment or landfill site. The EPA 2015 coal ash regulation provides disposal requirements basically amends the exsting standards for the potential pollutant source, coal ash leeching and dust. In March 2018, the coal ash rules were amended and made made more specfic on water quality standards not addressed in the 2015 regulations. It also allows states to establish their own permit requirement. (State permitting often mirror the federal standard and often provide specific stricter standards.)
Now to the CBS video that instigated the research.
Puerto Rico (a US Territory) is shipping their power plant coal ash to Florida for proper landfill disposal. Puerto Rico passed a law to prohibit disposal facilities. The story notes the 2015 regulations for proper disposal under Obama EPA. They cite Kingston coal ash dam failure, that was 2008 and storage as a liquid slurry in a pond. Totally different circumstances from a plant's dry ash storage then shipment for landfill. AES was converting the ash to agremax for road work until Puerto Rico legislation Act 40-2017 banned utilizing coal ash as a resource. CBS then impliies under President Trump's Clean Coal Initiative, the coal ash arriving into Florida is from a foreign source. The Initiative is to utilize coal that has less contaminants and thus less potential metals contaminants in the coal ash and does not change the existing regulations or standards for coal ash disposal.
(sauce included in part 2)