Coal plants could lower operating temperatures to ‘evade’ stringent limits on nitrogen oxides that contribute to smog. DEP has two years to come up with a new plan.
The industry argued that waste coal isn't high enough quality to meet the pollution standards. Environmental groups say the move is bad for public health.
They say miners are at particular risk: “They get dressed, travel down the elevator together…work in confined spaces, breathe the same air, operate the same equipment, and use the same shower facilities.”
In West Virginia, some are beginning to discuss life after coal. “We’re in it. We’re in the transition. It’s going to get worse before it gets better."
One reason: less coal mining means less money to clean up the 300,000 acres of abandoned mine lands and the 5,000 miles of waterways polluted from coal mining in the state.
One thing the report found was that the information system to track impacts dates back to the 1990s. Another finding is that coal companies are buying up land that they are mining under.
