EPA Action 12 Noon Today: Hold Coal Companies Accountable!

Today in Philadelphia, from 12 noon to 1 pm, activists are confronting the Environmental Protection Agency to demand it do its job, “putting an end to the cycle of surface mining and water pollution.” Here’s the alert from the Sierra Club:

Appalachia is locked into polluted water, and the EPA has the key

Join Us – Wed, June 4, 12:00 noon to 1:00 pm

EPA Region 3 Headquarters at 17th & Arch in Philadelphia

Project Site

A coal ash pond pollutes the Ohio River. Hidden cameras exposed this pollution in March; Earthjustice and Sierra Club issued this press release about the pollution.

Coal companies need to be held accountable for the pollution it generates and monitored to make sure they abide by the rules and regulations of the Clean Water and Air Acts. The Virginia and West Virginia Departments of Environmental Protection are tasked with enforcing these rules, but often state agencies are not up to the task, or have a conflict of interest when trying to accommodate economic growth while protecting natural resources. That’s where the EPA comes in. The EPA needs to oversee state agencies and assist in the permitting process to put an end to cycle of surface mining and water pollution.

Tell the EPA to stand up to coal companies and state agencies. WE WILL STAND WITH YOU!

 Philadelphia is home to the region 3 headquarters of the EPA, which is responsible for all of Virginia and West Virginia. We are helping to give a voice to the people of Appalachia.

You’ve no doubt heard about the chemical spills in West Virginia. The coal ash spills in North Carolina and Virginia. (News stories here) And the toxins that are in groundwater in Appalachia are part of everyday life, but this is not acceptable.

Help us make some noise at the EPA today! Stand with the Sierra Club, Rising Tide and other environmental groups to show our support for the communities of Appalachia.

[You are welcome to join us for the march. Bring something to make some noise.]

Thanks,

Jim Wylie

Sierra Club Volunteer

484-753-3581

jim.wylie@verizon.net

 

If you missed participating in this event, you can still support it by writing a letter to the editor about it after the fact, or calling your federal legislators to urge them to make sure EPA does its job. If you’re reading this, chances are you are using electricity, and chances are good that coal is involved. So it’s all our job to step up the pressure on the EPA!