Testimony of Lisa Evans, Senior Administrative Counsel Earthjustice before the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment, Committee on Energy and Commerce, U.S. House of Representatives Hearing on the Discussion Draft of H.R. ____, The Coal Ash Recycling and Oversight Act of 2013

The document provides testimony from Earthjustice criticizing the Coal Ash Recycling and Oversight Act of 2013. It details the severe health and environmental risks posed by coal ash, including groundwater contamination and the threat of dam failures. The author argues that the proposed legislation fails to establish national protective standards, lacks federal backstop authority for the EPA, and omits critical deadlines for permit issuance, thereby leaving vulnerable communities at risk.

• Coal ash contains high concentrations of toxic elements such as arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, selenium, and thallium, which can cause cancer and damage the nervous system, particularly in children.
• EPA risk assessments indicate that children drinking groundwater contaminated with arsenic from some unlined coal ash ponds face an excess cancer risk as high as 1 in 50, which is 2,000 times the EPA's regulatory goal.
• Water contamination from coal ash has increased significantly, with sites affecting ground or surface water increasing 25-fold since 1999 to over 200 sites across 37 states.
• State regulations for coal ash are largely inadequate; for example, 67% of states do not require liners and 61% do not require groundwater monitoring for surface impoundments.
• Coal ash disposal sites are disproportionately located in low-income areas, with nearly 70% of ponds situated in areas where household income is below the national median.
• The Congressional Research Service (CRS) concluded that the proposed Act fails to establish a national protective standard, meaning each state could potentially apply its own varying standard of protection.
• The proposed legislation does not provide the EPA with 'backstop authority' to implement federal standards if state programs are absent or deficient.
• The Act lacks explicit deadlines for states to issue permits or for facilities to comply with regulations, which could allow polluting sites to operate indefinitely.

APA

Evans, L. (2013). Testimony of Lisa Evans, Senior Administrative Counsel Earthjustice before the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment, Committee on Energy and Commerce, U.S. House of Representatives Hearing on the Discussion Draft of H.R. ____, The Coal Ash Recycling and Oversight Act of 2013. Earthjustice. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/evans_testimony_subcommittee.pdf

Chicago

Evans, Lisa. Testimony of Lisa Evans, Senior Administrative Counsel Earthjustice before the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment, Committee on Energy and Commerce, U.S. House of Representatives Hearing on the Discussion Draft of H.R. ____, The Coal Ash Recycling and Oversight Act of 2013. Earthjustice, 2013. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/evans_testimony_subcommittee.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Evans |first1=Lisa |title=Testimony of Lisa Evans, Senior Administrative Counsel Earthjustice before the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment, Committee on Energy and Commerce, U.S. House of Representatives Hearing on the Discussion Draft of H.R. ____, The Coal Ash Recycling and Oversight Act of 2013 |publisher=Earthjustice |date=11 April 2013 |url=https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/evans_testimony_subcommittee.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{evans2013testimony, author = {Evans, Lisa}, title = {{Testimony of Lisa Evans, Senior Administrative Counsel Earthjustice before the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment, Committee on Energy and Commerce, U.S. House of Representatives Hearing on the Discussion Draft of H.R. \_\_\_\_, The Coal Ash Recycling and Oversight Act of 2013}}, publisher = {Earthjustice}, year = {2013}, month = apr, url = {https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/evans_testimony_subcommittee.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }