Battle over coal ash a year after tragic spill

Coal ash is in a tug of war between environmentalists and the coal industry over its impending regulation"whether or not it is hazardous. It is currently unregulated and the industry is lobbying hard to keep it that way. Every year the United States produces about 70 million tons of fly ash (coal ash) from coal-fired power plants, according to the American Coal Ash Association (ACAA). Environmentalists say the mercury, arsenic, and other toxins should be classified as hazardous. This river is choked with toxic coal ash. (United Mountain Defense) The debate was revived in December 2008 when a 1 billion-gallon spill of coal ash sludge poured down a hillside in Kingston, Tennessee.