Georgia & Coal
GA Power retiring two coal units
March 23, 2012
The Public Service Commission (PSC) approved a request from GA Power to retire two coal fired units at Plant Branch, located on Lake Sinclair just inside Putnam County.
The retired units wild result in cleaner air and water for the area as less mercury and other toxins will be emitted.
The PSC also approved three contracts for GA Power to purchase electricity from natural gas powered facilities in 2015. The contracts will provide GA Power with sufficient surplus to meet needs during times of peak demand. Read more here.
Georgia claims #1 and #2 on national list of greenhouse gas emitters
January 11, 2012
Plant Scherer in Juliette holds the top spot in the nation for greenhouse gas emissions according to a list just released by the EPA. The second spot is claimed by Plant Bowen, about 50 miles northwest of Atlanta. Both plants, and the Plant Miller in Alabama, ranked number three in the country, are owned by the Southern Company.
The rankings were released less than a month after the EPA signed new regulations on mercury and other toxic emissions from coal plants.
These emissions are linked to birth defects, reduced cognitive ability in children, asthma, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. Read the Atlanta Journal Constitution's coverage.
Tell the Southern Company to stop leading the country in air pollution by signing this petition today.
Georgia ranked in Top 10 states for air pollution from coal
July 20, 2011
According to the Natural Resource Defense Council, Georgia ranks 9th in the country for coal plant air pollution. Our neighbors North Carolina, South, Carolina, and Alabama are just just below us in toxins from coal emissions.
The research was released in the final days of commenting on the Clean Air Act, which is poised to decrease the allowable emissions from coal plants. Read more here.
Georgia and Coal Ash Disposal in Ponds and Landfills
Amount of coal ash generated per year: Over 3.1 million tons. Georgia ranks 13th in the country for coal ash generation.
The U.S. EPA has not yet gathered information on coal ash disposal in landfills, so a detailed breakdown is not yet available. However, according to a 2007 EPA risk assessment, 11 surface impoundments and landfills in Georgia are unlined. Of these sites, 10 do not have a leachate collection system and nine do not have any groundwater monitoring.
More information on Georgia coal ash ponds
MAP
Mercury Impaired Water in Georgia
Click on the map to see a larger view
Coal and Your Health
Regulation of coal ash waste at Plant Scherer is "minimal"
April 16, 2012
The Macon Telegraph reports today that unlined coal ash waste ponds like the one at Plant Scherer, recently ranked as #1 in greenhouse gas emissions, receive "minimal" oversight.
Local residents have begun to raise concerns about the quality of their well water, which has very high levels of uranium. Further concerns have been raised because GA Power, the operator and partial owner of the facility, has recently purchased nearby homes, bulldozed them and then sealed the wells.
Seth Gunning, a conservation advocate, said this about the problems of unlined and self-monitored coal ash waste, “Right now, families simply have no protections against toxic heavy metals that are potentially leaching from coal waste into drinking water, and because (there) is no active monitoring the community has no information about the risk these facilities pose to the health and livelihood of their families,”
UGA and local public health officials are now testing water and talking with citizens about their health problems and concerns.
CNN: Why are so many people near Plant Scherer sick and dying?
April 1, 2012
CNN Radio aired a story on the startling number of serious illness, including cancer and kidney disease, impacting residents living near Plant Scherer, a coal plant near Juliette, GA. Residents near the plant have long complained of serious and fatal illnesses.
During the winter news began to spread in Juliette that GA Power, which owns a share of the plant and manages it for other stakeholders, was buying homes near the facility and immediately sealing the household wells. Even the University of Georgia and public health officials have taken notice of the high levels of uranium in the wells.
Residents diagnosed with cancer, severe kidney disease, and sclerosis of the liver, have been told by their physicians that the
cause of their illnesses is due to their local environment, not their diet or alcohol use.
Plant Scherer has an unlined coal ash pond where 900 tons of the toxic waste is stored. CNN reports that the uranium in the pond has tested higher than levels in nuclear waste in the past 30 years. Read more of the CNN feature and see photos of local residents here.
The economics of pollution
October 25, 2011
The Daily Grist has an analysis of an article in American Economic Review which clearly states that the damages resulting from burning coal clearly outweigh, and therefore are more expensive, then the benefits.
The Daily Grist states that for every $1.00 spent on coal, another $2.00 are spent on the ensuing damage done.
Wondering how coal impacts the health of your community?
According to the Clean Air Task Force coal plant emissions were responsible for 22 asthma attacks and 1 death last year in Washington County.
This interactive site will help you learn what type of impact coal has on your community, how much mercury is in the fish you are eating, and what you can do to reduce the damage done by coal emissions and mercury.
Find out if your community has dangerous levels of coal pollution
This interactive map will show you where coal plant pollution, which includes toxic mercury, is the worst. See how safe the air is in your community here.