Partial Progress Made to Move the Ash!

The news from AL.com was a great surprise! Each of you made a difference through your awareness and concern for this disaster waiting to ruin our beloved Tensaw Delta area. You spoke - and the EPA listened! However, it is not over until the coal ash is removed from this fragile area of the Mobile River.

We will continue to keep our 950+ free subscribers updated on the progress of removing the coal ash from the edge of the Mobile River. Please continue with awareness and action until the toxic coal ash is finally moved! Even with this announcement, Alabama Power has not committed to removing all coal ash from the unlined pond. This is a step in the right direction but still may have unknown outcomes. Stay tuned!

It is true! People can make a difference and your help during the past year and the EPA Hearings had an impact. Thank you. "It is not over until the coal ash is moved." We thank you for your continued involvement!

We are cautiously optimistic. The Lagniappe article below is shorter and provides additional important information.

AL.com's article: Alabama Power announces plan to remove, recycle coal ash in Mobile

Visit this link to read the entire article.

Lagniappe's report on 1/28/2024 is pasted below with permission from the publisher. Also accessible on their website with a very nominal & worth-it monthly subscription.

New Coal Ash Plan

by Rob Holbert. Sunday Brunch - Lagniappe

Sunday, January 28, 2024

A plan was announced this week that would — very slowly — remove and recycle the 21 million tons of toxic coal ash currently sitting in an unlined pond at Plant Barry alongside the Mobile River in the Tensaw Delta.

Eco Material Technologies announced plans to work with Alabama Power to build a new factory that will recycle the coal ash to be used in concrete. The move comes as the EPA is sweating Alabama Power very hard over its plan to bury all of that waste in the already-leaking pond.

Last year, the EPA determined APCO’s plan for the ash would not meet environmental standards because it would allow tons of the toxins to remain sitting in groundwater, thus polluting nearby waterways. Alabama Power and ADEM have tried to argue to the contrary, but the EPA will have the ultimate word.

This new plan has been hailed as a victory for those opposed to the burial of the coal ash in the delta, but it’s going to take a very long time for it to stop being a problem. Eco Materials plans to remove about 700,000 tons of the ash annually, which means it would take 30 years for it all to be recycled.

So far, we’ve been unable to determine where the recycling plant would be built, and APCO hasn’t explained why it’s OK to remove ash for recycling, but an environmental threat to actually move it to a lined pit off site. Hopefully we’ll get more info soon.

But anything that reduces the opportunity for a massive coal ash spill into the delta is a positive. It would just be nice if it wouldn’t take 30 years.

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