FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

August 3rd, 2022

MEDIA CONTACT: Laura Betts

lbetts@cleoinstitute.org

305-573-5251

121 groups from 30 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia sent a letter to the EPA urging regulation of legacy ponds and inactive landfills.

91 percent of regulated coal ash dumps are severely polluting groundwater, and hundreds of unregulated ponds and inactive landfills are leaking hazardous chemicals in the absence of clean up requirements. Unlined coal ash ponds and landfills are releasing toxic and radioactive substances, which are polluting lakes, rivers, and sources of drinking water.

The letter prepared by Earthjustice calls out the Stanton Energy Center in Orlando. “At the Stanton Energy Center in Orlando, Florida, an immense 90-acre coal ash landfill is contaminating groundwater, but the landfill evades all federal requirements because the plant’s owner, the Orlando Utilities Commission, stopped disposing of ash just 52 days before the effective date of the 2015 CCR Rule.”

New regulation would require closure and cleanup at over 400 currently unregulated polluting sites, and would be a significant step toward stopping coal ash pollution! The CLEO Institute is a signatory on the letter sent to the EPA, and we fully support the regulation of legacy ponds and inactive landfills.

To can access the letter, click here.

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The CLEO Institute’s mission is to educate and empower communities to demand climate action, ensuring a safe, just, and healthy environment for all. A 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, The CLEO Institute offers educational programs, advocacy programs and campaigns, and undertakes policy work in order to achieve a world in which all people, governments, and organizations are informed, engaged, and taking action on critical climate issues. CLEOInstitute.org