Thousands urge EPA to regulate coal dust from trains polluting communities and waterways
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 4, 2025
CONTACTS
Matt Hepler, Central Appalachian Environmental Scientist, (540) 871-1564, matt.hepler@appvoices.org
Residents from Appalachia and coal export communities like Baltimore’s Curtis Bay and Norfolk’s Lambert Point join the call for action
Washington, D.C. — Today, Appalachian Voices submitted a letter signed by nearly 4,000 individuals urging the Trump administration’s newly appointed Environmental Protection Agency administrator, Lee Zeldin, to develop new protections from coal dust that blows off of trains, contaminating waterways and posing serious public health risks.
Coal often contains harmful substances like iron, manganese, selenium and other toxic elements that endanger aquatic life. As coal trains cross rivers and streams, coal dust and larger rocks can blow or fall off, polluting the water below.
“Living for many years in Southwest Virginia, I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Coal trains are not covered, and each car carries around a hundred tons of pulverized coal in big mounds that top over the edges of the train cars,” said Appalachian Voices Environmental Scientist Matt Hepler. “I have personally found clear evidence of coal consistently entering waterways like the Clinch River, thanks to these uncovered coal trains.”
Across the nation, coal trains run through communities, exposing children and families to coal dust. Exposure to elevated levels of airborne particulate matter, such as coal dust, is linked to numerous respiratory and pulmonary diseases, and contributes to an estimated 48,000 premature deaths annually in the United States, according to the American Lung Association.
“In Norfolk, we watch trains pulling hundreds of coal cars through the city almost every day,” said Carl Poole, Political and Community Coalition Coordinator for New Virginia Majority. “They move past schools, playgrounds and community centers as they travel through our neighborhoods. Coal dust goes into all of these places, so this isn’t simply an energy issue. It becomes a health issue that our loved ones and our children must deal with. It’s about our lives.”
In September 2023, the Sierra Club, Appalachian Voices, New Virginia Majority, South Baltimore Community Land Trust and other partners, represented by legal counsel with Public Justice and Appalachian Mountain Advocates, submitted a formal petition to the EPA requesting the agency initiate a rulemaking process to address the issue. The petition includes extensive documentation from across the country showing coal trains depositing dust and larger coal fragments into waterways, while also releasing harmful clouds of coal dust into the air.
Mobile sources of water pollution which cross state lines — like trains — are supposed to be subject to federal regulation. Currently, no regulatory framework exists to prevent water pollution caused by coal trains in transit. (State regulators do have tools at their disposal to address fugitive coal dust issues in communities near coal mines like Eunice, West Virginia’s Black Eagle mine, and export terminals like those in Curtis Bay, Maryland, and Lambert’s Point, Virginia.)
Despite the urgency of the issue, the Biden administration did not act on the petition before leaving office. Now, community organizations are calling on the Trump EPA to review the evidence and move forward with the necessary rulemaking process.
“Scientific studies have consistently shown that coal particles and dust from uncovered rail cars can enter waterways, introducing contaminants such as heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons,” said Hepler. “These pollutants can settle into sediments, impact aquatic ecosystems, and alter water quality. Given the extensive rail networks crossing streams and rivers nationwide, a uniform approach to regulating these discharges would help ensure cleaner water for communities and ecosystems alike.”
The specific objective of the rule-making petition is to initiate a process whereby the EPA will establish a requirement for coal trains to obtain Clean Water Act permits. This would not directly address public health concerns related to coal dust, but it would mitigate water pollution issues, and would likely result in indirect benefits for public health, as coal trains would have to implement measures to control fugitive airborne particulates.
“EPA has clear authority to implement a solution: regulate coal trains and require covers to ensure that coal dust and chunks don’t fly out of the trains and pollute the water and air,” said Aaron Isherwood, an attorney with the Sierra Club. “You don’t see trains transporting any other commodity without covers, and there’s no reason industry can’t cover their coal trains.”