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This is an opinion cartoon. Got JD Crowe’s free weekly newsletter, Crowe Jam? Sign up for it here.This is an opinion cartoon. David Bronner, CEO of the Retirement Systems of Alabama, recently called on state leaders to address the massive coal ash pond that sits along the Mobile River, calling it a “huge environmental bomb.” We’ve been up and down this creek before. My AL.com colleague Margaret Kates is on it. Here are some excerpts from her reporting: “We do not need finger-pointing; we need to, jointly, with Alabama Power, our Washington team, and our state team, unite and start the long process to solve this huge environmental bomb NOW, NOT IGNORE IT until Mother Nature decides to let it bust loose and damage Mobile Bay, affecting not just Mobile Bay but the entire state,” Bronner wrote in this month’s Advisor, a newsletter sent to RSA members. The coal ash pond at Barry Electric Generating Plant, about 25 miles north of Mobile, contains around 22 million cubic yards of coal combustion residuals - that is what’s left after coal is burned for energy. It sits next to the Mobile River, and environmental activists argue that it poses a threat both to the river and the groundwater nearby. “That problem hangs over all of Alabama, like a knife to your throat,” Bronner said in the newsletter. “A breach of the Mobile site would clearly damage Mobile Bay for decades.” Enviornmentalists welcomed the attention. “We applaud David Bronner’s call to have Alabama’s leaders come together to see that 21 million tons of coal ash is removed from the banks of the Mobile River, once and for all,” said Cade Kistler, who runs the environmental nonprofit Mobile Baykeeper, in an email. “The coal ash pit remains a ticking time-bomb and continues to leach arsenic and heavy metals into the Mobile River Delta, putting human health and ecological health at grave risk.” Alabama Power said they couldn’t comment due to pending litigation. But Anthony Cook, a spokesperson for Alabama Power, added in an email.“We are aware of Dr. Bronner’s comments. Alabama Power remains committed to operating in full compliance with environmental regulations and continuing to work constructively with regulators and community partners.” Read all of Margaret Kates’ stories here.
