The cries of Louisville residents living near coal-burning power plants in Rubbertown need attention.
Two Greenpeace protesters were arrested on Sept. 28 in Louisville following their stance against coal-burning emissions and waste in Kentucky.
The two protestors rappelled down the side of the Seelbach Hilton with a banner attached to them that said, “EPA: Protect people, not polluters.”
The protestors remained up there for two hours before coming down to meet the police at the bottom. They were charged with criminal trespassing.
Their stance — along with 200 fellow protestors — was to end coal-burning wastes that affect the health and livelihood of the communities that surround the coal-burning plants.
The Environmental Protection Agency was having a hearing at the Seelbach inviting the community to voice their opinions about coal burning waste.
According to the EPA, Kentucky is the country’s largest producer of coal-burning waste. Indiana and Kentucky are also the nation’s top two states for coal ash ponds — dumps for coal waste.
I attended the hearing that evening — not as a protestor or supporter for coal-burning power plants — but as an Indiana resident living about 10 minutes from Rubbertown across the Ohio River, an industry-filled area in Southwest Jefferson County. I can see the smoke stacks from my house, and it’s become something of a game to visually assemble the smoke clouds into animal shapes on a stagnant day.
After listening to local Kentucky residents that are within closer proximity than I am to the plants, I heard the cries of a community that felt they weren’t being heard or fairly represented.
One resident and mother said her 28-year-old daughter had a slew of medical problems. This included an amputation of her leg when she was just 13-years-old and the removal of her uterus at 28.
Her daughter was also stricken with Crone’s disease and kidney disease. The mother said she takes the blame and carries the burden for her daughter’s medical condition. She bought a house next to a coal-burning power plant in Louisville and said enough is enough.
Another man said his sister lived near an ash pond in Louisville. He said his sister sometimes sees coal residue on her car, and she can taste it in her mouth at times. He said the coal ash waste in the ponds seeps into the ground and then into the groundwater. This makes its way into the drinking water.
On the opposition, the coal-burning plant supporters said if the EPA forced more restictions on them, it would be detrimental to the economy.
One supporter said many coal miners would lose their jobs and electricity bills would go up because coal-burning power plants are a less expensive outlet for electricity.
They also said they are currently recycling coal-burning waste and would be willing to find ways to recycle the waste into cement and drywall to keep the coal-burning industry from phasing out.
As I let these arguments brew, I thought it was interesting the location that was consistently
chosen for toxic waste emitted in the air and seeped in the groundwater.
This area is Rubbertown. I questioned why this lower socioeconomic area had to constantly bear the burden?
There weren’t any residents that attended the hearing from downtown or the east-end of Louisville expressing anger with theses industries, probably because there are no hazardous wastes emitting from power plants in those locations.
Residents living in those locations — for the most part — have the means to handle accumulating medical expenses and to hire lawyers to sue power plants that caused their children’s declining health and diseases.
My argument would be for the EPA to provide further restrictions on coal-burning plants by limiting the amounts of coal mined from the hills of Kentucky and to mandate more recycling measures so coal miners can keep their jobs and provide for their families.
The other aspect of my argument is to spread the health and wealth to other communities. Coal-burning plants should expand closer to Prospect and St. Matthews in Louisville to lessen the burden of socioeconomic tension in just one area. Also, it will evenly spread the toxic sludge and vapors across Louisville so residents in other areas can share the taste, too.
By LEAH TATE
Profiles Editor
lmtate@umail.iu.edu