Speakout for Clean Water + Coal Ash Cleanup for Bowen AP-1 Update

We Spoke Powerfully for Clean Water & Coal Ash Cleanup at Bowen AP-1! Let's Keep Up the Pressure!

Thanks to everyone who’s been following our campaign and for joining us on the evening of Thursday, October 14th to speakout for clean water and coal ash clean up at Georgia EPD's Hearing on coal ash at Plant Bowen AP-1! In total 63 people were present at the hearing including EPD Staff and Media. 15 people made comments all powerfully opposing the Bowen AP-1 Permit except for Aaron Mitchell the representative from Georgia Power.

All of the 14 opposing commenters present have been connected to our campaign or participated from our outreach and education efforts. This includes many who participated in our previous Plant Bowen Community Forum & Comment Comment training the week before. The training included a very informative overview by our contract expert Chris Groves of karst terrain, sinkhole risk, and groundwater conditions at Plant Bowen including the environmental challenges in storing coal ash in unstable karst landscapes. We would very much like to thank Chris for answering all our questions and for his presentation and insight into the concerns about this issue.

We engaged and prepared our supporters to speak authoritatively and powerfully about the potential risk of sinkholes and spills in regards to the unstable terrain at AP-1. Community members and supporters of this campaign in their comments effectively cited the history of sinkholes at Bowen and the need to excavate coal ash to a safer landscape due to the risk of future incidents. One commenter even used the comments from the Georgia Power Rep against them by explaining that the utility's commitment to engineering solutions for stabilizing the terrain at Bowen was a full admission that the company recognizes that Bowen is on unstable terrain and at risk of future sinkholes impacting AP-1.

Overall the hearing was quite an effective showcase of community concerns and opposition to the Bowen AP-1 Permit.

One important piece of information we learned from Georgia EPD's presentation at Bowen is that this hearing and permit process only covers Bowen AP-1, but there's another massive coal ash landfill on Bowen's property that will be subject to a separate permit process and review by Georgia EPD at a later time. No timeline provided.

Media from Hearing:

'Don't gamble with our lives;' Georgia Power draws ire over Bartow coal ash disposal plans - Tim Darnell, Capitol Beat News Service - Oct 15, 2021 (Also in Rome-News Tribune) capitol-beat.org/2021/10/dont-gamble-with-our-lives-ire-over-georgia-powers-coal-ash-plan/

Unfortunately we're not done and we still need to continue sending in as many comments from the public as possible to the Georgia EPD. If you haven't had the chance to send your comment letter to the EPD yet please send one in as soon as possible and remember to include your own personalized thoughts on the issue:

Demand that Georgia EPD requires Georgia Power to move its toxic coal ash to safely lined landfills on stable ground away from waterways!

Thanks to everyone for their support and engagement!

Neil Sardana, Georgia Beyond Coal Organizer - Sierra Club