The EPA yesterday finally released a list of 44 coal fly ash waste sites with high hazard potential, over-ruling attempts by the Army Corps of Engineers to keep the list of high hazard dams private.

More than half of the coal waste ponds on the list are located in just three Appalachia states: twelve in North Carolina, four in West Virginia, and seven in Kentucky.

Members of Congress, lead by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) strongly criticized containment methods for coal fly ash following the TVA ash spill in Harriman, Tennessee last December. Boxer has continually pushed for stronger over-site of fly ash as a hazardous waste product, and successfully fought the recent order by the Department of Homeland Security and the Army Corps of Engineers to keep the 44 most toxic sites under wraps for security reasons.

“We are pursuing whether the handling of these sites is consistent with the handling of other similar facilities, because of the critical importance of the public’s right to know about threats in their communities,” Senator Boxer said in a press conference June 12. “If these sites are so hazardous and if the neighborhoods nearby could be harmed irreparably, then I believe it is essential to let people know.”

“Coal combustion waste is subject to very limited regulation – in fact, there are stronger protections for household garbage than for coal ash across the country.”