Clean up toxic coal ash waste!

For years the Latrobe Valley power stations have been allowed to operate toxic coal ash dams without strong regulations and best-practice guidelines to prevent contamination, putting the Latrobe Valley community at risk of serious health impacts.

Coal ash dams are built next to waterways and on top of groundwater and have been slowly leaching into groundwater tables, exposing local waterways to toxins.

The full extent of contamination problems won’t appear until decades after power stations close and if coal ash dams are not cleaned up properly, the Latrobe Valley community will be left with a toxic coal ash legacy ...

For years the Latrobe Valley power stations have been allowed to operate toxic coal ash dams without strong regulations and best-practice guidelines to prevent contamination, putting the Latrobe Valley community at risk of serious health impacts.

Coal ash dams are built next to waterways and on top of groundwater and have been slowly leaching into groundwater tables, exposing local waterways to toxins.

The full extent of contamination problems won’t appear until decades after power stations close and if coal ash dams are not cleaned up properly, the Latrobe Valley community will be left with a toxic coal ash legacy.

It’s clear that current guidelines for coal ash dams fail to adequately protect the Latrobe Valley community from the dangers of toxic coal ash.

We are calling on the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) to implement fit-for-purpose guidelines specific to the management, remediation and re-use of coal ash. The guidelines should ensure the safe management and remediation of Latrobe Valley coal ash dams, and hold power station operators accountable to conduct best-practice clean ups.

Can you call on Lee Miezis, CEO of the EPA to clean up toxic coal ash waste? Send an email now

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Clean up toxic coal ash waste!

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Dear Mr Miezis,  
 
For years the Latrobe Valley power stations have been allowed to operate under guidelines created for landfill sites, which are not fit-for-purpose to regulate toxic coal ash dams.

Some of the coal ash dams in the Latrobe Valley were built before the EPA had guidelines to regulate them, so they don’t comply with the current guidelines at all. The dams are either inadequately lined or unlined, failing to prevent groundwater contamination and putting the Latrobe Valley community at risk of serious adverse health impacts.

While power station operators must prepare coal ash rehabilitation plans by December 2021, the current landfill guidelines set remediation and rehabilitation up for failure. The EPA has an opportunity to introduce best practice guidelines specific to coal ash dams, which protect the community and the environment and to ensure that the Latrobe Valley is not left with a toxic coal ash legacy. Best practice guidelines will also hold power station operators accountable to conduct best practice clean-up of Latrobe Valley coal ash dams.

For the sake of the health and the future of the Latrobe Valley community, the EPA must ensure the safe management and remediation of Latrobe Valley coal ash dams. I am calling on the EPA to:

- Produce fit-for-purpose guidelines specific to the management, remediation and re-use of coal ash

- Ensure thorough community engagement in this process including access to information and public participation

- Produce guidelines for the reuse of brown coal ash products and ensure information underpinning the establishment of these new industries is made available to the public

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