Comment submitted by Tyler Edgar, National Council of Churches

Ms. Lisa Jackson Administrator Environmental Protection Agency Ariel Rios Building 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20460 October 25, 2010 Dear Administrator Jackson, As communities of faith, we are writing to respond to the rulemaking process underway that would regulate coal ash and support the option of identifying coal ash as a toxic material (as suggested in Subtitle C of the proposed rule). In the last two years, two energy-related disasters have occurred in the United States. First, more than 5.4 million cubic yards of coal ash burst through its dam in late 2008 as families in Kingston, Tennessee celebrated Christmas and prepared for the New Year. More recently, we watched the Deepwater Horizon oil spill unfold for months on end, inflicting great suffering on families and communities along the Gulf Coast. While we cannot undo the damage that has already been done, we can and must find ways to prevent these types of human-made disasters stemming from our country’s growing need for energy. We are encouraged by your proposed rule and believe that coal ash should be regulated as a toxic substance. Such regulation would require more appropriate storage and hopefully would prevent further water contamination from coal ash and other coal combustion residues (CCRs). With these stronger regulations, we will be protecting all of God’s creation from the harmful effects of arsenic, lead and other chemicals found in coal ash. The water and soil contamination that has already occurred as a result of coal ash and other CCRs is having and will continue to have devastating effects on people, plants, animals, and the whole of creation upon which we all depend on for life and well-being. A recent report highlighted that there are 137 toxic contamination sites in 34 states around the country that are directly linked to the storage and disposal of coal ash and CCRs. Not only does coal ash threaten public health generally, it disproportionately affects low