Coal's environmental impact focus of report for legislature

THE COURIER-JOURNAL - January 25, 2012

Kentucky environmental advocates on Tuesday published a report summarizing research that has documented the health and environmental impact from coal, saying they hope it may persuade Kentucky lawmakers to support a bill that would diversify the state's electricity mix.

"We are in the education stage with this piece of legislation," said Rep. Mary Lou Marzian, a Louisville Democrat and sponsor of House Bill 167, also called the Clean Energy Opportunity Act. "We understand ... that this is a coal state. We want to be sensitive to those jobs."

She acknowledged it may take several years for the bill to become law but is hopes it will be discussed in a committee this session.

The report's "primary finding is that there were negative health effects associated with the entire life cycle of coal," from its mining to the handling of coal-burning wastes, said Deborah Payne, the Kentucky Environmental Foundation's health director and co-author of the report.

"We have the potential to generate much more from solar, wind and hydro," said Elizabeth Crowe, executive director of the foundation. "These sources produce no health-damaging pollution."