Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
A recently introduced bill could have far-reaching impact on the U.S. sugar industry, including American Crystal Sugar, a farmer-owned cooperative that locked out 1,300 Midwest workers on Aug. 1.
The chairman for Herman Cain’s Iowa effort says the campaign “relied more on the word of farmers than Washington regulators” in deciding to run an ad containing claims the Environmental Protection Agency says are false.
The Iowa Senate will remain under the control of a slim 26-25 Democratic majority when it reconvenes in January 2012.
Stricter state regulations on coal ash could create added costs to state government, and during a recession, that is not a viable idea, Iowa Environmental Protection Commission (EPC) Chairwoman Charlotte Hubbell said in a letter to an environmental watchdog.
Hubbell was responding to a request from Cedar Rapids-based Plains Justice and Washington, D.C.,-based Environmental Integrity Project and Earthjustice for the EPC to to pass a motion at its upcoming meeting supporting federal regulation of coal ash as hazardous waste, among other provisions.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is scheduled to release draft rules governing coal ash disposal this month. A potential loophole in the rules has many activists afraid Iowa’s biggest coal ash concerns, unlined and unmonitored former quarries and mines that use the ash as fill, could be left unregulated.
In July, Hubbell said state lawmakers should hold public hearings on coal ash disposal to see if stricter regulations were needed. In a letter to Donna Wong-Gibbons, public health specialist for Plains Justice, she said she is hopeful the EPA’s new rules will adequately protect public health.
Below is Hubbell’s letter to Wong-Gibbons.
Dear Donna,
If we have time, we can certainly discuss your proposal during our General Discussion. I will say in these times of economic distress, I would not be in favor of requiring states to come up with the money to do this. First, we need to require groundwater monitoring to see if there is a problem. If there is a problem, then the entities creating the coal ash or storing the coal ash need to correct it. I’m getting tired of the public having to carry the costs for waste disposal. I understand business will, in all liklihood, transfer the costs of disposal to consumers. But people need to know what the real cost of using coal is so they can support alternatives.
At the end of the day, I think coal ash disposal needs to be part of a comprehensive plan that deals with reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Hopefully, the Obama administration and EPA will come up with a solution that we can all embrace.
Sincerely,
Charlotte Hubbell
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