Despite multiple coal ash disasters, protections still lacking
Citizens to speak with media following meeting with EPA Region 4 calling for safeguards
Contact: Jennifer Rennicks, Director of Policy & Communications, 865.235.1448, [email protected]
A recording of the tele-press call is available here.
Atlanta, Ga. (April 17, 2014) – Almost three months after the nation’s third largest coal ash spill tainted over 70 miles of North Carolina’s Dan River and over 5 years since the Tennessee Valley Authority’s massive Kingston coal ash disaster, Southeastern communities are still endangered by more than 450 toxic dumpsites across the region. A group of environmental advocates and citizens from around the Southeast are meeting with the new EPA Administrator of Region 4, Heather McTeer Toney, and her staff to bring concerns about ongoing pollution problems in every corner of the region.
After their meeting with EPA, the group will provide a brief debrief for the media and discuss impacts of coal ash pollution on local communities. Speakers will highlight coal ash problems across the Southeastern region and opportunities for solutions from state environmental agencies and EPA on the regional and federal level.
WHEN: This live, phone-based telepress conference will begin at 1:30 p.m. EDT on WEDNESDAY, April 23.
TO PARTICIPATE: Dial 1-888-346-3659 and use access code 66152#
WHO: (Additional participants pending)
Speakers:
Emily Feinberg, Waterkeeper Alliance
Ulla Reeves, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
Kemp Burdette, Cape Fear Riverkeeper
Sarah McCoin, Resident of Swan Pond, near Kingston, TN
Available for Questions and Answers:
Esther Calhoun, Black Belt Citizens Fighting for Health and Justice
Nelson Brooke, Black Warrior Riverkeeper
Charles Robbins, Cape Fear River Adventures
Frank Holleman, Southern Environmental Law Center
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Founded in 1985, the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy is a nonprofit organization that promotes responsible energy choices that create global warming solutions and ensure clean, safe, and healthy communities throughout the Southeast. Learn more at www.cleanenergy.org