Send a Letter to Alabama Power Decision-Makers
Send a personal letter to Alabama Power executives telling them we applaud their steps toward partial recycling of the coal ash, but more steps are needed to ensure any remaining coal ash that cannot be recycled does not remain "capped-in-place."
WHY WRITE A LETTER?
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The unlined Barry coal ash pond sits in the 100-year flood plain of Mobile River.
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Currently, one dirt dike keeps the 21+ million tons of toxic coal ash from flowing into the Mobile River and the Mobile/Tensaw Delta.
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Similar dirt dikes in Tennessee and North Carolina have failed resulting in tragic coal ash pollution at those sites.
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The coal ash lagoon is currently contaminating groundwater with arsenic and cobalt according to Alabama Power reports from 2018 continuing up to the latest report in 2022.
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A spill from the Barry coal ash lagoon would be 20 times the volume of the BP oil spill which was 96 miles from Alabama coast. Barry lagoon is 25 miles upriver from the city of Mobile.
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Alabama Power's current plan to close the lagoon by dewatering, consolidating, and capping the ash still leaves ash sitting in groundwater on the side of Mobile River where it will continue to pollute indefinitely.
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Alabama Power used a "cap in place" to close the coal ash pond at the Gadsden plant. After closure, ground watering monitoring data shows pollution levels of arsenic that are 10,000 % above the legal limit and 50% greater for radium.
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Major electric utilities in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee have all determined that removal of coal ash from unlined ponds next to bodies of water is the only environmentally sound method to protect the health and welfare of their citizens.
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Georgia Power, a sister company to Alabama Power, has voluntarily agreed to excavate and remove coal ash from every one of their coastal ash pits, in addition to other sites originally slated for cap-in-place.
TALKING POINTS FOR YOUR LETTER
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Are recreation activities on unpolluted water important to you?
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Potential for hurricanes and tropical storms providing irreparable danger to Mobile and Bay area from the rupture of the pond’s dike.
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General concerns about the long-term effects of coal ash pollution.
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Health impacts – clean and safe drinking water; pollution of the Bay, etc.
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Environment – damage to local ecosystem, wildlife, seafood habitats, etc.
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Flora and fauna are affected in “America’s Amazon”.
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Other information that means something to you if a disaster larger than the BP oil spill happened again.
Mail your letter to
these Contacts:
Jeff Peoples, Chairman
President and CEO
Alabama Power Company
1802 6th Ave N
Birmingham, AL 35203
Angus R. Cooper II
Chairman of Board, AL Power
118 N Royal St. #1100
Mobile, AL 36602
Susan B. Comensky
Vice President Environmental Affairs
1802 6th Ave N
Birmingham, AL 35203
Chris Womack
President and CEO Southern Company
30 Ivan Allen Jr. Blvd. NW
Atlanta, GA 30308
We're making it easy for you to write those who can make sure the ash is moved!
View our sample talking points and feel free to use our pre-written letter template as a base to expand on with your own words. Simply copy and paste our example into your own word document and edit as desired. Next, just print and manually mail your letter to the Alabama Power officials you choose. Please include your name and address on your personalized letter
Or...
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Select the Email Directly button below to personalize and send our pre-written letter directly via email to the four executives we've selected.
To: Alabama Power, Southern Company
c/o: Jeff Peoples, Angus Cooper, Susan Comensky, and Chris Womack
Dear [Alabama Power Executives or specific executive, i.e. Jeff Peoples, CEO],
I was pleased to read about the plans you now have to recycle and remove 700,000 tons of coal ash a year from Plant Barry. However, I ask you not to leave any coal ash capped in place. We need a timeline and actual commitment in meeting the EPA standards needed to protect Mobile Bay.
We know the coal ash pond at Barry Steam Plant has been leaking toxic metals into the groundwater for years, continuing up to today. Furthermore, Alabama Power’s plan to leave any of the remaining ash "capped-in-place" means the ash pond will remain next to the Mobile River and continue to pollute the groundwater and river forever.
Alabama Power must take environmentally responsible action to prevent irreparable harm to our Mobile-Tensaw Delta, Mobile River, the historic African-American community of Africatown, and Mobile Bay. I will continue to track the progress to recycle, remove, and close the ash pond.
I would like to tell you some of the reasons why I feel this is important:
[insert your personal comments here].
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Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Address]
[Date]
Coal Ash in Alabama
Click play to watch a short film about coal ash throughout Alabama.
Produced by SouthernExposureFilms.org in partnership with Alabama Rivers Alliance.
What else can you do to help?
Write a letter to the Alabama Power decision-makers (see template).
Volunteer at an event we attend or host.
Spread the word to your family and friends about the ongoing and nearby coal ash pollution.
Attend a public meeting, presentation, or event we host.
Follow us on social media and share our posts.
Stay updated on the issues by subscribing to receive our emails.
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Earthjustice, a nonprofit that handles environmental lawsuits, has also compiled the data from pond operators. The organization has information on more than 500 coal ash ponds across the United States, including an interactive map and spreadsheet. Users can use these to search by a variety of factors, including state, utility and name of the plant.
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If you can’t find the information you’re seeking on a utility’s website, you can check with state regulators. The EPA has compiled a list of those agencies. (CNN, 2021)