Bill Chameides: Finally Standards for Coal Ash ... Just in Time?

Dr. Bill Chameides is the dean of Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. He blogs regularly at theGreenGrok.com . On Monday, while the Environmental Protection Agency sought information from electric companies about their coal waste disposal practices, a new crisis was bubbling up. A pipe from a paper mill in Maryland broke open , leaking potentially toxic fly ash sludge into the Potomac River. After decades of dithering on just how to classify the stuff, it's about time EPA acts on coal waste. But is it enough? If it's true all politics are local, it's also true that environmental issues often start local and only get wide attention when something huge - and usually pretty bad - happens. Take coal ash. If you're like me, you probably hadn't thought too much about the stuff until December 2008 when a retaining wall at the Kingston coal-fired power plant burst, spilling toxins over 300 acres and chasing people from their homes ... (link)