Kim Adams: ADEM permit for Plant Barry closure a victory for facts over sensationalism

0
431
Photo Credit: jobkeeperalliance.org

Last week, state regulators with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) finalized a permit allowing Alabama Power Company to move ahead with its plan to permanently close its coal ash site at Plant Barry near Mobile. That’s good news for a number of reasons, and state regulators should be applauded for looking past the sensationalism surrounding the proposed plan and focusing instead on the facts and science at hand.

Although many independent experts concluded that the coal ash site at Plant Barry could be safely closed in place, a handful of activists nonetheless called on ADEM to require Alabama Power Company to excavate the material to some other, unnamed community. Doing so would have been foolhardy and dangerous, especially considering that the material would take three decades to relocate. Moreover, history has shown clearly that half a century of hurricanes and major storm events have never remotely threatened Plant Barry’s coal ash site, even without the robust site improvements that will now be made under the approved permit.

There’s also the issue of where Plant Barry’s coal ash would be moved anyway. Groups like Mobile Baykeeper never bothered to suggest a new home. At least one community, the MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians, raised serious concern that Plant Barry’s coal ash could be transported through tribal land north of Mobile, disrupting traffic, schools, and community life for decades, not to mention the danger of thousands of trucks traveling local roads. 
In the end, attempts by Mobile Baykeeper and others to label the closure in place method as unsafe simply couldn’t compete with the facts. Other utilities have also elected to close large coal ash sites in place rather than move them, and, in fact, a majority of the volume of coal ash in the Southeast is being handled that way. That’s because the method was approved by both the Obama and Trump administrations and has been deemed safe by experts who understand that every coal ash site is different.

By sticking to the facts, ADEM’s regulators made the right decision. The plan they considered was well-conceived and supported by independent experts in geology and hydrology. It was also supported by many local leaders who understood that closing the coal ash site in place was a more sensible option than disrupting the southwest Alabama community for decades with truckloads of coal ash competing with local traffic daily.

It’s always worthy of applause when truth overcomes hype. Kudos to ADEM for tuning out the noise and making the right call.

Kim Adams is the Executive Director of Jobkeeper Alliance. She is a native of Hurtsboro, Alabama. Adams is helping lead the fight to support American workers and combat efforts that threaten jobs.