Kendyl Crawford, Director of Virginia Interfaith Power & Light, released the following statement regarding Governor Northam’s signing of legislation to clean up coal ash from unlined ponds in Virginia.
“It is long overdue that decades-old toxic coal ash is finally being addressed after having poisoned Virginia’s waterways. Removing millions of cubic yards of toxic material along waterways to safe, lined landfills is a step towards a healthier and more just state. Now, we have a moral responsibility to ensure that all coal ash, including that outside of the Chesapeake Bay watershed is safely recycled and disposed.
While we applaud the signing of this legislation that cleans up coal ash, once again Dominion, one of our electric utility monopolies, has shown their influence by pushing the fiscal burden to fall on electricity consumers.”
About Virginia Interfaith Power & Light
Virginia Interfaith Power & Light is a nonprofit organization that collaborates, as people of faith, to grow healthy communities and advance climate justice through education, advocacy, and worship with over 2,500 supporters across the state. We are a program of Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy. For more information, visit http://www.vaipl.org.