Renner Barsella, renner.barsella@sierraclub.org
CENTRAL APPALACHIA - People across Central Appalachia would be exposed to thousands of tons more of deadly air and water pollution if the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) follows through with threats to roll back rules limiting pollution. The full impact of potential rollbacks is illustrated in an interactive tool unveiled by the Sierra Club on Monday. Pollution would be drastically reduced if coal operators complied with five of the EPA's major guardrails, all currently under threat by the Trump administration: the Good Neighbor Plan, Regional Haze standards, Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, Effluent Limitation Guidelines, and Greenhouse Gas standards. Focusing on these five rules, the data shows just how much harmful pollution can be avoided. These safeguards are in place to curb the release of toxic chemicals from coal power plants, including nitrogen oxides, mercury, sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, and wastewater pollution.
According to the Sierra Club’s pollution dashboard, if these standards are eliminated, coal plants in Kentucky, West Virginia, and Southeastern Ohio will increase emissions across the region from what they would have released under the following rules:
- 418 tons (a 21% increase) of filterable particulate matter without Mercury and Air Toxics Standards
- 7,111 (a 36% increase) tons of NOx without the Good Neighbor Rule
- 92,909 tons (a 57% % increase) of SO2 without the Regional Haze Rule
- 177,594 tons (a 91% increase) of wastewater without Effluent Limitation Guidelines
- 138,255,592 tons (a 72% increase) of CO2 without Greenhouse Gas Standards
“Politicians have promised West Virginians for decades that bowing down to coal lobbyists would make our state great again, all while shrugging off the idea of attracting new, more competitive, job-creating industries to our state. The results have always been the same: more pollution means more sick West Virginians, more broken promises,” said Honey May, Director of the West Virginia Sierra Club. “Revival takes investment, not stripping away programs that keep people healthy.”
Julia Finch, Director of the Kentucky Sierra Club said, “The mountains and streams aren't just something we take pride in, they were central to Appalachian life and traditions long before the coal companies showed up. We were the backbone of American industry, our people are owed more than to be written off as a way to save corporate profits and earn headlines about reducing government waste. Appalachian health–clean air and water–is never a waste.”
“The Gavin coal plant, owned by big private investment firms on the Ohio side of the West Virginia border, is infamous. Pollution got so bad that the community of Cheshire was bought out to avoid damages and the plant also holds the distinction of being the deadliest coal plant in the country, responsible for nearly 244 deaths a year all by itself. Now is not the time to do away with pollution rules,” said Ohio based Neil Waggoner, the regional manager for Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign, citing Clean Air Task Force’s Toll From Coal report.
Threats to federal pollution standards come at a time of unprecedented cuts to other programs supporting health and vital services across the Appalachian region, including the closure of National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health offices tasked with mine safety and black lung disease screening. Some of those cuts were temporarily reversed after objection by Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia).
So far, West Virginia is the only state in the country where the Trump administration has explicitly overturned the previous administration’s rejection of the state's plan to lift limits on the amount of sulfur dioxide in the air, which should be limited by the Regional Haze Rule. Sulfur dioxide is a dangerous air pollutant that can cause serious respiratory and cardiovascular issues, particularly in sensitive individuals such as those with asthma, the elderly, or people living with black lung disease.
The Sierra Club’s “Trump Coal Pollution Dashboard” also includes individual analysis of the five standards for every coal-fired power plant in the U.S. while Clean Air Task Force’s “Toll From Coal” map focuses on health impacts with a similar interactive map.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.