Rep. John Sarbanes is calling for tougher federal laws on coal fly ash to prevent pollution that has lead to drinking water contaminated with cancer-causing metals.
“Without it, you end up with a race to the bottom. If one state has the proper regulations, they just ship to the next one that doesn?t have tough laws,” Sarbanes, a Democrat, told The Examiner.
“States need guidance,” said Sarbanes, a member of a House natural resources subcommittee. “Maryland is trying to do the right thing.”
Fly ash, the byproduct of coal combustion, was blamed for contaminating dozens of wells around Gambrills with arsenic, aluminum and cadmium ? materials known to cause cancer and disease, and in high doses, death.
Sarbanes said more needs to be done to find better use of the material, such as using ash to make bricks and concrete. Currently, about half the ash produced can be used beneficially; the rest is used as infill material.
A House subcommittee held its first hearing on fly ash and possible regulations last week.
Maryland officials approved dumping the byproduct “with the knowledge that severe ground water and aquifer contamination was an immediate threat of endangering the health of its citizens,” said Gambrills resident Norman Harvey in his written testimony to a congressional subcommittee about the lack of federal regulations on coal fly ash.
In October 2006, Constellation Energy revealed that fly ash dumped into two pits in Gambrills was leaching into the water table.
Subsequent investigations by Anne Arundel showed that dozens of wells around the site were contaminated with cancer-causing heavy metals.
At the time, the Maryland Department of the Environment said it operated in accordance with its own rules on dumping the material in the absence of regulations from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
MDE has since created a more defined policy on dumping fly ash, a move that many states are takingin light of a growing environmental concern.
Virginia formed a panel last week to advise its Department of Environment Quality on fly ash regulations changes.
In Delaware, officials are calling for cancer data for residents living around a power plant in Millsboro where tons of fly ash has been dumped and arsenic levels are 20 times the federal standard.
“Delaware is arguably on the cutting edge, with more stringent and protective laws in place,” Jim Werner, director of Delaware?s Division of Air and Waste Management.
But environmentalists say even with state governments improving their standards, it is still not enough.
“The problem is that there is nearly no response to the fly ash issue,” said Lisa Evans, an attorney with environmental watchdog group Earthjustice who testified before the committee.
“But in most cases, state regulations are inadequate. In Maryland, they are just now acknowledging the issue.”
