[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 12155-12156]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        COAL ASH WASTE DISPOSAL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
New Jersey (Mrs. Watson Coleman) for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN. Mr. Speaker, this week, the House will consider 
dangerous legislation on coal ash that will put communities and 
families in New Jersey in danger. We need strong Federal regulation on 
coal ash waste. Poor management practices in States like Pennsylvania 
and New York that border New Jersey affect my constituents' lives.
  The Delaware River provides drinking water to one-third of New 
Jersey's municipalities. In 2005, Martins Creek Power Plant in 
Pennsylvania spilled 100 million gallons of coal ash across 10 acres 
into the Delaware, contaminating that drinking water with arsenic. 
Towns surrounding the Delaware, towns that depend on the river for the 
fishing and recreational activity that drives their economies were 
devastated.
  In New York, the EPA found that coal ash from a power station had 
contaminated groundwater with iron, selenium, manganese, aluminum, and 
at least 10 other dangerous chemicals.
  H.R. 1734 not only fails to protect communities from toxic pollution, 
it undermines legitimate efforts to protect our communities.

[[Page 12156]]

  I urge my colleagues to vote against it. All of our constituents 
deserve better.

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