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September 2, 2010

State rep testifies on coal dumping

By Tom Dalton Staff Writer

MARBLEHEAD — State Rep. Lori Ehrlich of Marblehead went to Washington, D.C., this week to testify before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on proposed coal waste regulations.

Ehrlich urged the federal agency to adopt tough national standards to prevent disasters like the one in Kingston, Tenn., when a retention pool collapsed, sending a billion gallons of toxic ash into a nearby river.

Ehrlich also told the agency about the multimillion-dollar cleanup of Wenham Lake, a drinking supply for Salem and Beverly. A group led by local citizens, including Ehrlich, discovered that several feet of coal ash, dumped over the years from coal-burning Salem Harbor Station, were at the bottom of the lake.

"In this case, the 80,000 residents who drink from this lake every day were lucky," Ehrlich said, according to a press release from her office. "But how many throughout the country are not?"

Working with others, Ehrlich wrote legislation in 2001 that addressed coal dumping in Massachusetts. She said it has been blocked by the coal and disposal industries.

"This is a perfect example of how states are hamstrung and unable to protect (their) citizens," she said. "This regulation is overdue, and I call on the federal government to step up already."

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