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01J29/201010:12AM "EPAPublicAccessCustomerService" <publicaccess@mailca.custhelp.com> LisaPJackson/DCIUSEPA/US@ EPA
FWD :January22,2010DearLisaJackson, I am writingonbehalfofGreen America,
...

The following incident has been forwarded to you by Public Kathleen Dougherty (dougherty.kathleen@epa.gov) Sender's Ccmment Access
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### -------------- Email Address : First Name: Last Name: Type: Title: Zip Code
. kimaecofriendonline.ecm

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IP Address : Insert SA Answers : January 22, 2010 Dear Lisa Jackson, I amwriting on behalf of Green America, . . . 4 c. Public Access - End State Pollutants and Toxics Other PolluLants and Toxics
. . Ol/22/2010 C6:23 PM 01/29/2010 10:11 AM Unresolved Kathleen Dougherty Quick < 5 minutes
No No NJ Yes January 22, 2Q10 23:21 :38 GMT ?1 .202.1 .184 No
Discussion Thread

--------------------------------------------------------------- Customer - O1/?.2/2010 06:23 PM January 22, 2010Dear Lisa Jackson,

I amwriting on behalf of Green America, a national marketplace solutions organization founded in 1982, with 120,000 individual and 5,000 business members nationwide
. our mission is to harness economic power - the strength of consumers, investors, workers, and businesses - to solve social and environmental problems
. our members are deeply concerned about the environmental impacts of electric power generation in our country, and support the generation of electric power in the cleanest manner possible
. In particular, for the past decade, our members have been active with us in raising concerns about the harmful environmental impacts of coal - from mining, to burning, to disposal - and encouraging greater regulation of this highly polluting energy source. As we enter a newyear, I wanted to send you my thanks for the work the EPA is doing to reduce the environmental effects of coal-fired power and increased scrutiny of mountain top removal mining permits, and encourage the EPA to hold coal companies accountable for their abuses of the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act
. Specifically, I want to thank the EPA for reviewing and initially rejecting 79 permits for mountaintop removal mining, for its recent ruling that carbon dioxide is a pollutant, and the agency's newly proposed National Ambient Air Quality Standard, further limiting smog. I amalso pleased to hear that the EPA is considering a tightening of the wastewater discharge standards to better protect our waterways and newcontrols on mercury emissions
. It is in light of these accomplishments and intentions that I wish to raise several concerns. Green America and its members are concerned that the EPA recently signaled its approval of the Hobet 45 mine in Lincoln County, WV, after reaching an agreement that only reduced stream impacts by 50 percent and reduced anticipated streamcontamination
. While this marks an improvement over the initial application, it still clearly allows for the significant destruction of streams and likely permanent damage to ecosystems
. In fact, a paper entitled "Mountaintop Mining Consequences" published in the journal Science today by 12 leading scientists nationwide clearly concludes that the impacts of mountaintop removal are pervas~.ve and irreversible: The scientific evidence of the severe environmental and human impacts from mountaintop mining is strong and irrefutable

. Its impacts are pervasive and long lasting and there is no evidence that any mitigation practices successfully reverse the damage it causes. In addition, we understand that the EPA is currently working to reach an agreement on the Spruce No.l mine in Logan County, WV, which would clear 2,200 acres of forest, bury more than seven miles of headwater streams, and increasingly contaminate downstreamwatersupplies
. It is hard to imagine how this mining operation could be allowed to go forward in a manner that adequately protects the environment
. At a time when Americans are increasingly, and justly, concerned about the contamination of water supplies, and recognizing that the future health and well being of communities nationwide will be deeply and permanently impacted by the actions taken today around coal mining, we urge the EPA to strictly enforce all existing regulations, including the Clean Water Act, and use its authority to block all coal mining practices that cause permanent harmto our waterways, ecosystems, and communities (rather than merely reduce these harms)
.I would also like to take this opportunity to encourage the EPA to release

proposed regulations regarding coal ash that strictly regulate this environmental risk

. Throughout the ccuntry, coal ash dumps pose a threat to our communities and over 130 million tons of newcoal ash is produced each year . Coal ash is also incorporated into roadbeds, building materials, and other products, all without regulation
. For too many years, this massive and dangerous waste stream has gone unregulated, and it is clear that the coal industry itself cannot be relied upon to protect the public interest
. We need the EPA to create strong regulations to prevent another tragedy, like what happened in Tennessee one year ago, where l .? million cubic yards of coal ash spilled, causing the largest environmental disaster of its kind in US history and extensive harms to the surrounding communities that still are not being properly addressed
. We are concerned about the EPA's delays in issuing these regulations, which were initially to be released by the end of 2009, as well as the agency's current lack of disclosure regarding existing sites and decision allowing coal ash to be deposited in a landfill in a high-poverty and mostly African American community in rural Alabama
. Green America supports the strictest regulation of coal ash waste that poses a significant threat to human health
. and the environment
. Green America will continue to followthe EPA's work on regulating coal-fired power production, and will continue to support improved and increasing regulation of coal mining and power production
. Sincerely, Kim M
. Ha-nmar CEC, EcoFriendOnline.com



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