To me, the choice is obvious. And to nearly 300 of us who attended the hearing in Dallas in favor of Subtitle C, the choice is simple. Coal ash is hazardous. There is seemingly no way around that fact.
My fight with Big Coal has changed who I am in more ways than one. With a coal plant threatening to be built about 1.5 miles from my home, I now know just what it feels like to be in such a horrendous position. I, essentially, know what it feels like to be a minority...to be dumped on by the rest of society. It's an awful feeling at best. I can't say that I have ever, in my life, been exactly fond of people or the human race in general, but fighting this fight has made me wonder if my future should involve the defense of the poor and utterly helpless.
Public speaking, while I don't do it too often, has been forced upon me as well. Everyone who hears me compliments me. "You're a fantastic speaker!" they say. "You sound so cool and calm," they suggest. Inside, I shake. I think I might faint. Then, apparently, I do a fabulous job.
I forced myself to speak at the Dallas public hearing and I'm glad I did it. I can honestly say that I walked away with a feeling of completeness....like I had just done something for the good of all humanity. A feeling that I had served my country well.
"My name is Whitney Root and I am here as a representative of the Multi-County Coalition, a non-profit organization based in Sweetwater, Texas working to stop construction of the proposed Tenaska Trailblazer Energy Center. Along with about 700 individuals around the Big Country Area, the City of Trent, the City of Hawley and the Texas Farmers' Union are members of our organization.
We are at a point in history where debate over coal products should no longer be an issue. Study upon study confirms that coal ash contains any number of poisonous materials including, but not limited to: mercury, cadmium, arsenic, cobalt and lead. Mercury is one of the deadliest elements on the planet. Arsenic is a potent poison. Cobalt is a carcinogen.
In as much as science provides proof beyond question, there should be no hesitation for the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate this waste for what it is--HAZARDOUS.
Any further debate over the issue simply stalls, once again, the day of reckoning when the truth be told--coal products and bi-products are threatening to human life and therefore, by definition, HAZARDOUS.
It is high time for the Environmental Protection Agency to do what its title suggests it do--protect American citizenry against hazards such as coal ash. Failure to do so would only constitute a further, cynical delay of doing what is right and just.
For well over a century energy companies have reaped enormous profits because they have been able to ignore environmental and human concerns. It is time for the pendulum to swing back, part way at least, to We the People--the inhabitants of this environment. It is the only environment we have ad it must be protected.
And that, my friends, is your job.
Ansel Adams is quoted as saying, "it is horrifying that we have to fight our own government to save the environment." Please don't hesitate to do what you know is right; what is right for the American People. Coal ash must be regulated under the stricted standards available. It is a hazardous waste and must be treated as such."
The day before our hearing, our billboard was hung! I'm so proud! I can't believe all that we have done---we're fighting an energy company with little to speak of for funding...and we're doing a damn good job of it.
