"Enviros Demand Locations of 44 'High Hazard' Coal Ash Sites"

"A coalition of environmental groups today formally asked three federal agencies to make public the list of 44 coal ash disposal sites across the country that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has classed as 'high hazard.'

The Freedom of Information Act request was submitted by the Sierra Club, Earthjustice, the Environmental Integrity Project, and Natural Resources Defense Council after the EPA last week refused to disclose which of the hundreds of coal ash sites across the country pose a high hazard threat to nearby communities.

The EPA was instructed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security not to release information about the location of these 44 impoundment dams containing coal ash, a byproduct of using coal to generate electricity.

'The industry has told us for decades that coal ash is perfectly safe - now we're told that some of their ash dumps are so dangerous, the federal government is afraid to tell us where they are. We need to move beyond this 'see no evil' approach, and regulate these unsafe practices,' said Eric Schaeffer, director of the Environmental Integrity Project."

Environment News Service Had the Story June 19, 2009.