The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed new wastewater standards for coal-fired power plants. This can help control discharges of pollutants like toxic metals, chlorides, bromide, nutrients, and other pollutants into waterways across the country.
These standards would apply to every coal-burning power plant in the U.S. and require these facilities to install modern technology to treat and manage contaminated wastewater, preventing 584 million pounds of toxic pollutants from being discharged into rivers, lakes, and streams every year.
Toxic water pollution from coal-fired power plants can cause severe health and environmental problems including cancer, heart disease, reproductive failure, stroke, brain damage in children, and deformities and reproductive harm in fish and wildlife. Once in the environment, these contaminants can remain there for many years, accumulating in fish and other animals. Communities of color and low-income communities are disproportionately burdened by this pollution.
That is why we must urge EPA to quickly finalize the strongest possible protective wastewater treatment standards for toxic pollution discharges from coal-fired power plants into the nation’s waters.