[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 14569]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      NOTHING ABOUT COAL IS CLEAN

  (Mr. QUIGLEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. QUIGLEY. Mr. Speaker, nothing about coal is clean. From 
extraction, to waste slurry, to stream contamination in Appalachia, 
nothing--I repeat--nothing about this energy source is clean. In order 
to extract coal from the ground, mountains are literally blasted apart, 
killing wildlife and destroying forests, contributing to erosion, 
flooding and pollution that hits local communities and causes severe 
health problems. Over 1,200 miles of stream in Appalachia alone have 
been buried or completely contaminated because of mountaintop mining.
  In order to prepare the coal for burning, an overwhelming amount of 
water is needed to clean the coal. For every ton of coal cleaned, 20 to 
40 gallons of water are used to wash the coal, creating a sludgy 
pollutant known as slurry. Over 90 million gallons of slurry are 
created every year while harvesting and preparing coal for burning. 
Keep in mind, we haven't even begun to burn the stuff yet.
  Green jobs are the key to economic and environmental progress in 
regions torn by surface and mountaintop mining and struggling 
economically due to the destruction of the land. These include jobs in 
wind, hydroelectric and biofuel power. These jobs will give hard-hit 
communities a long-term future for their families instead of a short-
term paycheck in exchange for the quality of life in the region 
forever.

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