Coal ash a real waste
The state Department of Environmental Protection has given the go-ahead to First Energy to ship coal ash from a power plant in Beaver County by barge to the landfill at Hatfield’s Ferry in Greene County.
The coal waste will need to be covered during in 100-mile journey up the Ohio and Monongahela rivers to prevent dust from blowing off.
The disposal must be a considerable expense for the company, and one wonders how much that cost will increase once the landfill reaches capacity.
The coal industry is facing tough times, but it may not be government regulation or competition with natural gas that dooms it, but rather the amount of waste it produces.