The Sierra Club has been very active working with the Louisville community near Cane Run where residents suffer from soot and coal ash blowing into their homes and affecting their water. After tests by state agencies and Louisville Gas & Electric revealed that coal ash was contaminating homes in the area and putting families at heightened risk of cancer, asthma, and birth defects, the utility called a meeting with impacted citizens to try to explain the problem. Public radio in Louisville did a three-part series on the controversy, and the Louisville Courier-Journal also covered it extensively (see links below).
Following the incessant drumbeat of local media highlighting the health hazards posed by the Cane Run power plant and its toxic coal ash dump, LG&E announced in September that it will retire the 645MW coal boiler within five years. Our job, however, is only half done as we will continue to press LG&E to fix the coal dust problem and to cancel plans to expand the neighboring landfill to accept coal ash waste from other coal plants.
The Courier Journal has both a great story as well as video of LG&E trying to spin its way out of trouble.
Louisville Public Media covers the issue here and here, and has also published an excellent series devoted to exposing the truth of the coal plant’s disastrous health effects. See parts one, two, and three.