Consequences of Delaying Coal Ash Cleanup

Floor Speech

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Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, in just 1 short year, our constituents have already begun to suffer the consequences of the Trump administration's agenda to undo lifesaving environmental protections.

The latest rollback is expected to target key parts of the EPA's 2015 and 2024 coal ash rules. Coal ash, a byproduct of coal combustion by power plants, contains hazardous heavy metals that if left unregulated can pollute our land and our water.

The effects of these toxins on the human body include increased risk of heart disease, cancer, and cardiovascular disease.

Certainly protections, like monitoring ground water and lining legacy coal ash ponds to prevent contamination, are common sense, but these requirements are at risk of being weakened. Delaying coal ash cleanup puts public health in danger.

Make no mistake who those rollbacks are for: Polluters who would rather poison ground water than pay a little bit more to protect the public. We should be accelerating cleanup, not creating loopholes that allow toxic waste to sit leaking and unregulated for years to come.

Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to join me in speaking out against this attack on the rules protecting us from coal ash.

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