EPA plans environmental justice listening session in Rockingham County

The Environmental Protection Agency will hold a listening session Thursday night in Rockingham County to collect public input, as it develops limits on polluted water released by power plants.

Federal regulators are considering revisions to the Steam Electric Power Generating Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards.

The EPA updated limits for coal-fired power plants in 2015 and 2020. The focus now is on updating standards for different types of polluted water released from these sites.

As part of the process, the EPA is conducting an environmental justice analysis to look at pollution exposure for potentially affected communities.

Steven Pulliam is the Dan Riverkeeper. He says it's hard to forget the major coal ash spill in the waterway in 2014 or the fight for coal ash cleanup in the Belews Creek area. He says the meeting is a rare opportunity for the community to share its thoughts.

“This is a safe place that you can speak your mind for things that you are concerned about whether it be from a power plant or not," he says. "If it's a concern of water quality in general, the EPA is willing to listen at this meeting.”

The meeting will take place from 6 - 7:30 p.m. in the Lakeside Special Events Center at Carolina Marina on Belews Lake in Stokesdale. It will also be held online.

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