Congress again considers blocking coal ash safeguards

A Congressional conference committee will meet May 8 to work out differences in a major transportation funding bill - with the Keystone XL pipeline and coal ash among the major issues to be worked out.

Why are those issues part of a transportation bill?

Congressional Republicans, with some Democratic support, are using whatever bills they can to attach riders that call for the approval of the Keystone pipeline and block the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from protecting the public from exposure to toxic coal ash. West Virginia Rep. David McKinley, who sponsored a floor amendment that would prevent the EPA from ever adopting coal ash disposal standards, said that sometimes coal ash is recycled into road construction materials and therefore is a transportation matter.

This amendment passed the U.S. House on a voice vote so we can't tell you how Kentucky's individual members voted. In the past, only Rep. John Yarmuth has voted against legislation that would block the EPA from controlling coal ash disposal.

Approval of the Keystone XL pipeline was in the original House bill, but the Senate bill did not include it. President Obama said he would veto the transportation bill if the Keystone provision is included.

KFTC joined with Earthjustice and other state, regional and national groups to place an ad in Politico. a publication read widely in Washington, DC. The ad, pictured below, asks members of Congress to keep coal ash out of the transportation bill.