Markey Calls for Caution on Coal Ash Disposal in Mine Shafts, Mountaintop Recovery

Toxic Coal Waste Could Taint Water if Safety Rules Too Weak, Congressman Tells Interior Dept.

WASHINGTON (July 18, 2012) – Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) today called on the Department of Interior to ensure the protection of communities in their current consideration of the rules that will govern the potential disposal of coal ash in abandoned mine shafts and to fill and reshape mountaintops destroyed by mining operations. In a letter sent to Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Rep. Markey asks for documents related to the development of the rule to ensure that it is being done transparently and in consultation with the Environmental Protection Agency and local communities that could be impacted by this potentially dangerous practice.