"Dozens of communities nationwide are at risk from a coal ash spill like the one that blanketed a Tennessee neighborhood last year, but the Obama administration has decided not to tell the public about it because of the danger of a terrorist attack.
The Environmental Protection Agency, as part of an investigation opened after the Tennessee spill, classified 44 coal ash storage ponds in 26 communities as potential hazards.
The agency, which earlier this year pledged to be transparent and carry out its work in the public view, wanted to disclose the information until the Army Corps of Engineers said it shouldn't because of national security concerns.
The information is now caught in a bureaucratic tussle, with one agency wanting to alert the public to the hazard and another agency fearing that widespread release of the information might, if terrorists got involved, put the public in danger."
Dina Cappiello reports for the Associated Press June 12, 2009.
See Also:
"Sen. Boxer Pushes EPA to Reveal 'High Hazard' Coal Ash Sites"
"EPA secrecy on coal-ash list worries lawmakers" (Louisville Courier-Journal)
"EPA Asked To Id 'High Hazard' Coal-Ash Dams" (Charleston Gazette)
"Barbara Boxer 'Muzzled' on Coal Ash Sites" (Politico)
"EPA Must Withhold Locations of 'High Hazard' Coal Ash Sites" (Environment News Service)
"EPA: 44 Coal-Ash Sites Pose Hazard" (Dow Jones)
"Boxer Calls for Release of Coal Ash Sites" (Nashville Tennessean)
"We Are Here for Your Protection" (Huffington Post)
"Locations of High-Risk Coal Ash Sites Kept Secret" (Associated Press)
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