Even as the number of coal-fired power plants declines in the United States, the dangerous coal ash byproducts they generate are found in dumps in every state, threatening to leach toxins into drinking water supplies. The latest TipSheet examines why the problem won’t seem to go away, and offers 10 top story ideas and resources for reporting on coal ash in your locale.
"The U.S. Department of Energy is considering terminating 300 additional clean energy projects worth over $15 billion, according to a leaked list reviewed by The Times."
"Cartoonist Tiffany Everett’s new book encourages readers to explore new places, keep journals about what they encounter, and think like scientists."
"An El Segundo refinery fire has renewed questions about who is investigating the state’s oil industry after serious accidents. With the U.S. Chemical Safety Board defunded, California has yet to fill the gap."
"Staff shortages, turnover, and new priorities at the Department of Justice are stretching legal staff handling environmental issues and causing unusual delays—even before the government shutdown."
"For the first time, renewable energy has overtaken coal as the primary source of electricity around the world, a new report says, indicating a shift in the global reliance on environmentally harmful fossil fuels."
"Most politicians rarely discuss electricity costs. But in New Jersey, they have been featured prominently in campaign ads and stump speeches in the run-up to November’s election for governor."
"Kevin O’Leary’s plans to build the world’s biggest data centre in a drought-stricken part of Alberta highlights the big questions and concerns about the resource demands of artificial intelligence"
"Last year, state epidemiologists studied an industrialized region east of Houston. They reported finding high rates of cancer, but refused to release key geographic details—a decision some experts say is irresponsible."
"Agency scientists found that PFNA could cause developmental, liver and reproductive harms. Their final report was ready in mid-April, according to an internal document reviewed by ProPublica, but the Trump administration has yet to release it."
Links
[1] https://www.sej.org/publications/tipsheet/coal-ash-issue-just-won-t-stay-buried
[2] https://www.sej.org/headlines/leaked-list-shows-trump-mulling-15-billion-more-clean-energy-cuts
[3] https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2025-10-09/energy-department-considers-more-than-15-billion-in-additional-project-cuts
[4] https://www.sej.org/headlines/diary-nature-nerd-new-graphic-novel-celebrates-kids-love-wildlife
[5] https://therevelator.org/nature-nerd-graphic-novel/
[6] https://www.sej.org/headlines/us-oversight-disappearing-refineries-explode-who-s-charge-now
[7] https://calmatters.org/environment/2025/10/refinery-explosion-federal-state-oversight/
[8] https://www.sej.org/headlines/doj-legal-delays-slow-environmental-cases-and-frustrate-lawyers
[9] https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/doj-legal-delays-slow-environmental-cases-and-frustrate-lawyers
[10] https://www.sej.org/headlines/renewables-outpace-coal-electricity-generation-historic-first-report
[11] https://www.npr.org/2025/10/09/nx-s1-5564746/renewable-energy-coal-electricity-first
[12] https://www.sej.org/headlines/advocates-sound-alarm-monterey-co-pesticides-risks-pregnant-women
[13] https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/09/business/new-jersey-electricity-prices-governor-election.html?smid=url-share
[14] https://www.sej.org/headlines/what-will-ai-data-centre-boom-mean-land-water-and-power-canada
[15] https://thenarwhal.ca/ai-data-centres-canada/
[16] https://www.sej.org/headlines/officials-won-t-give-cancer-data-polluted-texas-community
[17] https://publichealthwatch.org/2025/10/09/texas-houston-chemical-waste-cancer/
[18] https://www.sej.org/headlines/epa-hasn-t-released-completed-toxicity-report-forever-chemical
[19] https://www.propublica.org/article/epa-pfna-forever-chemical-report
[20] https://www.sej.org/search_results
[21] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=69
[22] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=66
[23] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=67
[24] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=68
[25] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=71
[26] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=72
[27] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=73
[28] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=74
[29] https://www.sej.org/search_results?page=4904