Battle Over Coal Ash a Year After Tragic Spill

Coal ash is in a tug of war between environmentalists and the coal industry over its impending regulation.
Battle Over Coal Ash a Year After Tragic Spill
Charlotte Cuthbertson
Charlotte Cuthbertson
Senior Reporter
|Updated:
<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/TVASpill217_medium.jpg"><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/TVASpill217_medium.jpg" alt="1 billion gallons of coal ash sludge swept through Kingston, Tenn., crushing homes, poisoning rivers, and contaminating residential drinking waters sources. (United Mountain Defense)" title="1 billion gallons of coal ash sludge swept through Kingston, Tenn., crushing homes, poisoning rivers, and contaminating residential drinking waters sources. (United Mountain Defense)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-99130"/></a>
1 billion gallons of coal ash sludge swept through Kingston, Tenn., crushing homes, poisoning rivers, and contaminating residential drinking waters sources. (United Mountain Defense)
Coal ash is in a tug of war between environmentalists and the coal industry over its impending regulation—whether or not it is hazardous. It is currently unregulated and the industry is lobbying hard to keep it that way. 
 
Every year the United States produces about 70 million tons of fly ash (coal ash) from coal-fired power plants, according to the American Coal Ash Association (ACAA). Environmentalists say the mercury, arsenic, and other toxins should be classified as hazardous.
 
Charlotte Cuthbertson
Charlotte Cuthbertson
Senior Reporter
Charlotte Cuthbertson is a senior reporter with The Epoch Times who primarily covers border security and the opioid crisis.
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