Coal Ash Waste Disposal

Floor Speech

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Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, this week, the House will consider dangerous legislation on coal ash that will put communities and families in New Jersey in danger. We need strong Federal regulation on coal ash waste. Poor management practices in States like Pennsylvania and New York that border New Jersey affect my constituents' lives.

The Delaware River provides drinking water to one-third of New Jersey's municipalities. In 2005, Martins Creek Power Plant in Pennsylvania spilled 100 million gallons of coal ash across 10 acres into the Delaware, contaminating that drinking water with arsenic. Towns surrounding the Delaware, towns that depend on the river for the fishing and recreational activity that drives their economies were devastated.

In New York, the EPA found that coal ash from a power station had contaminated groundwater with iron, selenium, manganese, aluminum, and at least 10 other dangerous chemicals.

H.R. 1734 not only fails to protect communities from toxic pollution, it undermines legitimate efforts to protect our communities.

I urge my colleagues to vote against it. All of our constituents deserve better.

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