Ohio Makes the "Filthy Fifteen"

Nachy Canfer of the Sierra Club supplied the following news release to Eastern Flash.

… March 12, 2009 Ohio News Advisory …
WARNING ON NEW COAL ASH SPILL DANGER: OHIO TO BE NAMED ONE OF “FILTHY 15 STATES” TOPPING LIST FOR MOST COAL ASH WASTE AT PROPOSED COAL-FIRED POWER PLANTS

15 States Most At Risk From Future Threat: FL, GA, IL, KY, MI, MO, MT, NV, OH, SC, SD, TX, WV, WI & WY; Kingston, TN. Coal Ash Spill Lessons Not Learned As New Dirty Coal Power Plants Loom.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Ohio is one of the 10 worst states in the nation in terms of toxic coal-ash waste that will result from proposed dirty coal-fired power plants, according to a new National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) report that will be released with the participation of the Ohio office of the Sierra Club.

Over 100 existing dirty coal-fired power plants already have been identified as the sites of major coal ash dump sites similar to the one that failed in December 2008 in Kingston, TN. Now, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) will for the first time identify the amount of toxic coal-ash waste that will result from 88 proposed dirty coal-fired power plants around the United States.

In alphabetical order, the “filthy 15 states” that face the biggest jumps in new coal ash production from power plants are: Florida; Georgia; Illinois; Kentucky; Michigan; Missouri; Montana; Nevada; Ohio; South Carolina; South Dakota; Texas; West Virginia; Wisconsin and Wyoming. (For the purposes of the new NRDC calculations, all proposed coal-fired power plants that have not been officially killed were examined.)

Nachy Kanfer of Sierra Club, Ohio, will be available to comment on the report.

News event speakers will be: Peter Lehner, executive director, Natural Resources Defense Council; Patrice Simms, senior attorney, Natural Resources Defense Council; and Tom "Smitty" Smith, Texas Office director, Public Citizen.

TO PARTICIPATE: You can join this live, phone-based Ohio news conference, with full, two-way Q&A, at 1:30 p.m. ET on March 12, 2009 by dialing 866-901-2585. Ask for the “Ohio coal waste” news event call.

CAN’T PARTICIPATE?: A streaming audio replay of the Ohio news event will be available on the Web at http://www.nrdc.org as of 6 p.m. ET on March 12, 2009.

CONTACT: Leslie Anderson, (703) 276-3256 or landerson@hastingsgroup.com.

NRDC is the nation's most effective environmental action group, combining the grassroots power of 1.2 million members and online activists with the courtroom clout and expertise of more than 350 lawyers, scientists and other professionals. Visit http://www.nrdc.org.