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Protecting Our Water from Toxic Power Plant Pollution
- Read our press release about EPA's proposalto limit Power Plant Pollution
- Learn more about EPA's proposal to limit Power Plant Pollution
- Read our letter to the President
- Read our letter to the Office of Management and Budget
Coal-fired power plants are the nation’s biggest water polluters – every year, they dump millions of pounds of pollutants, including toxic metals like arsenic, boron, mercury, cadmium, lead and selenium, into our rivers, streams, and lakes. In fact, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), more than 50% of all toxic water pollution comes from coal-fired power plants.
President Obama Must Protect Our Nation’s Water from Power Plant Pollution
Washington, DC: Clean Water Action joined dozens of groups to urge President Obama to protect our water from pollution from power plants. The groups are urging the release of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed “Steam Electric Power Generating Category Effluent Limitation Guidelines” for public comment by the court-ordered deadline of April 19th.
“Coal fired power plants are the largest water polluters in the U.S. They account for nearly three quarters of toxic water pollution,” said Robert Wendelgass, Clean Water Action President and CEO. “The amount of toxic pollution, which includes arsenic, mercury, cadmium and selenium, which are all harmful to humans and aquatic life – are incredible and must be drastically reduced.”
Help Us Fight Another Polluter Give-Away on Coal Ash
kick coal ash
The Senate has tried time and time again to make it harder to protect our communities from coal ash. So far, we've been able to stop them. These various bills have failed to provide meaningful protections to the thousands of communities living near dangerous coal ash dumps. The latest bill (S. 3512 - which is "dead" would have permanently barred the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from ever establishing enforceable standards to protect human health and the environment from harmful coal ash pollution. We expect to a similar bill introduced in the new Congress.
Tell your Senators to oppose any giveaway to polluters!
Clean Up Coal Ash
- Despite the toxic nature of coal ash and numerous cases of contamination, there are currently NO federal standards to ensure this industrial waste product is disposed of safely. State laws governing disposal are weak or non-existent. Clean Water Action is working to change that.
Working to Protect America's Water
- Since our founding during the campaign to pass the landmark Clean Water Act in 1972, Clean Water Action has worked to win strong health and environmental protections by bringing issue expertise, solution-oriented thinking and people power to the table.
Fighting For Fracking Regulations
- fracking problems
In recent years, a new technique called hydrofracturing (or fracking, for short) has been used to drill for natural gas buried miles below the surface of the earth. Clean Water Action is working to make sure that fracking does not ruin the air and water of communities in which it happens.