What about the OMB (White House Office of Management & Budget)?

After a flood of wet coal ash swept from a power plant containment pond in December 2008, contaminating a river and covering 300 acres of eastern Tennessee, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced it would decide whether to issue new coal ash regulations by the end of 2009.

In April 2009, Alex Livnat of the EPS stated, "We intend to address all of aspects of managing coal combustion waste, fugitive dust included, in a proposed rule that is scheduled for completion at the end of 2009."

At this time the EPA proposed rule has been stuck since mid-October at the OMB. By February 2010, Industry has had over 25 meetings with OMB concerning coal combustion waste (fly ash) -- and we're lagging way behind. On February 16, 2010, a group of people from national environmental organization and grassroot movements attend a telephone conference with the OMB and the EPA.

During the conference call, the OMB was asked: Since taking in the proposed rule in mid-October OMB has more than 25 meetings with industry, which has unlimited funding and tremendous access to decision makers, including the White House. Please free a rule that is protective of human health and ASAP so the public participation process can be initiated and the discussion based on speculation will come to a halt.

Members from communities affected by coal ash were given time to tell their stories to the OMB and the EPA. Bokoshe resident Susan Holmes told the following story:

My name is Susan Holmes, I am from Bokoshe, Oklahoma and I live near the fly ash dump operated by a local company called Making Money Having Fun, LLC (MMHF). I’d like to tell you about our communities experience with this company and the state agencies that are supposed to regulate it.

Making Money Having Fun is owned by the Jackson family which has had a number of small coal and oil and gas business over the years. For decades we have seen how they operate. Everyday for seven years we have watched how they operate this fly ash dump. We are convinced that this operation does not have the experience, the ability or intent to the follow the laws against air pollution, water pollution or damaging human health. We are also convinced that the state agencies are not willing or able to enforce the law against this industry in Oklahoma.

This fly ash dump is located at old strip mine. In addition to dumping fly ash they dump saltwater from oil and gas wells. This dumping fly ash and saltwater was sold as a “beneficial use” as part of “reclaiming” a strip pit. Calling this a “beneficial use” and calling this a “reclamation project” is a lie that is told to keep this pit within the jurisdiction of the Department of Mines. The Department of Mines lets them operate in a way no other agency would.

For seven years the fly ash billowed off site and on to the Town of Bokoshe every time a truck dumped. That is every eight to ten minutes. Contaminated water from the fly ash pit flows onto Herman Tolbert’s property and directly into streams that flow into the Arkansas River.

We became increasingly concerned because of health problems in Bokoshe. There is a lot of respiratory illness and cancer. There are approximately 15 households within 2 miles to the north and east of the dump and 14 of them have cancer.

When we complained to the Oklahoma state agencies they ignored us. We were told MMHF was doing all it was required by law. One year ago we got together as a community to oppose this fly ash pit. We have succeeded in getting state agencies to see that MMHF is violating the law. But we can’t get the agencies to stop them.

We contacted the Department of Mines in February 2009. Something happened that we did not expect. No one contacted us to find out what our complaints were. Instead there was a meeting with our State Senator Kenneth Corn and staff from DEQ, the Corporation Commission and the Department of Mines. No agency took any action. No one even contacted us to find out what we were complaining about.

We organized an effort to go to public meetings held by DEQ. In April we went to the Air Quality Council. We explained about the fly ash dust leaving the pit and covering Bokoshe. We were fortunate because a newspaper reporter from the Tulsa World was there to cover our story. Within two weeks ODEQ reported that Making Money Having Fun had been violating the Clean Air Act for seven years.

In October 2009, we went to the Water Quality Council. We told them contaminated water leaks from the fly ash pit and runs onto neighboring landowners and into streams. We were fortunate because there was a television camera crew there to cover our story. ODEQ called EPA and within 24 hours EPA was conducting an onsite inspection. Test results confirmed that water from the fly ash pit is leaving the site. EPA has temporarily ordered that they stop dumping oil and gas saltwater into the pit.

We feel like we have succeeded because the ODEQ and the EPA agreed with us that MMHF was violating the law. But the pit continues to operate. The Oklahoma Department of Mines refuses to take any action. They have all the evidence of the violations. They know about the findings of the other agencies. The fly ash continues to blow off the property and onto Bokoshe. The fly ash pit continues to leak contaminated water onto surrounding property and into surrounding streams. The Oklahoma Department of Mines refuses to stop the violation of the law.

This is a bad situation but it gets worse. Our Senator James Inhofe and our Congressman Dan Boren have never responded to any of our requests for help. But since the EPA stopped this company from dumping oil and gas saltwater, both Senator Inhofe and Congressman Boren have called EPA to ask when MMHF can resume full operation. Our own elected officials are working against us.

Faced with this it would be easy to give up. I am here to tell you we are not giving up. We are going to every responsible agency and telling the truth about our situation. We are also telling them what we need. That is why I’m on the call today. We need for EPA to publish a proposed fly ash rule we can have a real discussion about this problem. I understand that OMB is preventing EPA publishing these rules. We folks here in Bokoshe need for OMB to let these rule be published because the lack of rules is killing people in Bokoshe.

Copyright © 2009 by B.E. Cause All rights reserved.