Improving Coal Combustion Residuals Regulation Act of 2015

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. FOSTER. Mr. Speaker, this is the final amendment to the bill, which will not kill the bill or send it back to the committee. If adopted, the bill will immediately proceed to final passage as amended.

What this commonsense amendment does is something that I think we should all be able to agree is a good thing; it protects our drinking water. My motion to recommit would require that coal ash impoundments must be sufficient to prevent toxic contamination of groundwater and to protect all sources of drinking water, including but not limited to the Great Lakes.

Coal ash--the material left after coal is burned--contains many toxic elements, including arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, and selenium. Arsenic exposure can lead to nervous system damage, cardiovascular issues, urinary tract cancers, lung cancer, and skin cancer.

When people are exposed to lead, they may experience brain swelling, kidney disease, heart problems, nervous system damage, a drop in intelligence, or even death. If not handled properly, these toxins can and do leach from storage sites and contaminate nearby water sources.

I think my colleagues on both sides of the aisle can agree that we don't want our children drinking water contaminated with lead, arsenic, and other toxic compounds; but that is exactly what happens when these surface impoundments are not properly built, maintained, and monitored.

According to a 2010 EPA risk assessment, people living near unlined coal ash ponds have an increase in lifetime cancer risk as high as 1 in 50 caused by the arsenic contamination alone in their drinking water. I suspect that this is a much higher risk than any of us would accept for our families and ourselves.

I do not believe that it is an accident that coal ash ponds, as well as the coal plants that produce them, are disproportionately located in economically disadvantaged areas, placing the burden on those with few resources to defend themselves and the health of their families.

A 2011 report by the Environmental Integrity Project found that my home State of Illinois has the second most sites contaminated by coal ash in the country, and that Illinois EPA data showed groundwater contamination exceeding health standards at all 22 coal ash-related sites the Agency monitored.

We know that there are coal ash ponds contaminating groundwater. Some are located in Waukegan, Illinois, which borders Lake Michigan. Contamination in Illinois is not just a problem for the people of Illinois; it is a problem for the entire country.

Water crosses State boundaries in lakes, rivers, and underground aquifers. That is why coal ash should be regulated at the national level, but at a minimum, we should demand that groundwater and drinking water be protected.

The Great Lakes are the largest freshwater system in the world, and it is unconscionable that we are considering a bill today that would weaken protections for the water that many of us drink.

The vote on this motion to recommit is fundamentally about whether or not you believe that all people in our country deserve access to safe drinking water.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this motion and ``yes'' to protecting the health of millions of American families.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source