Are you concerned about the power plant planned in Robinson, Washington County?

The Beech Hollow coal-fired power plant project in Robinson, Washington County, has spurred controversy for years, with opponents citing concerns about air and water pollution and supporters touting benefits of job creation and removal of the gob pile. Are you worried about the project? [Read PG story.]

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I am EXTREMELY worried about the proposed waste coal plant. The "benefits" offered by the plant developer would be funny if it wasn't so frightening. Removing the gob pile?? Yes, the gob pile looks bad and contributes to acid mine drainage in the area. BUT the acid mine drainage is controllable with limestone treatment (but of course this costs the developer money rather than MAKING money for him). What the developer fails to tell people is that BURNING the gob will add significant air pollution (even with scrubbers and other technologies designed to reduce emissions)....especially mercury and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)--which are KNOWN carcinogens. In addition, the gob pile will be replaced by the left over fly ash after combustion. This will become one of the largest fly ash impoundments in the nation! Not only do impoundments of fly ash pose health risks (leaching of heavy metals into ground water) and risks of catastrophic accidents (like the TVA), they are also national terrorism targets! Beech Hollow is bad for Washington County, bad for Allegheny County, and bad for Western PA overall. A handful of players stand to benefit financially on the backs of residents' health and property values!

The air of Western Pennsylvania already has some of the highest particulate levels in the country (check the American Lung Association State of the Air site http://www.stateoftheair.org/ for information about your area).   Why?  Because we live downwind of dozens of coal-fired power plants in Ohio.  A waste coal plant releases more particulates into the air, and kicks up the dust locally as the workers break into the coal gob and crush it for the plant.  High particulate levels in the air lead to more asthma and other lung-related illnesses.  We don't need the power; while we could use the jobs, but it would be better for the community to put the gob pile to some more environmentally friendly use or just leave it alone.

For more information on battling waste coal plants, see http://www.wehavenotbeguntofight.org

The long-term health effects of increased air pollution, contamination of ground water by the deposition of fly ash into unlined pits, and the negative impact on our children's health, quality of life and property values far outweigh any benefit this power plant could offer by the creation of a few jobs for this area. There are other viable alternatives to the waste coal issue this state and its communities face. Burning waste coal for its miniscule BTU value is not the answer. The scariest part of this whole Beech Hollow issue is the fact that PA DEP has been so lax and accommodating in its permitting processes, both air and mining, for the developers of this entire operation. As local citizens fighting for our health, our children's health, and our communites and homes, we have come to realize that the PA DEP is not on our side at all, but operates with big coal and industry in mind. Case in point: we are asking them for a public hearing for the mining permit that is still outstanding for this project and they respond with a mid-day hearing schedule - certainly not convenient for working parents, and certainly not a time-frame that would allow the majority of us to express our views. Beech Hollow's pollution won't stop at the border of Washington County - the impact from this project will felt by us for miles around and for decades to come.

This is a big concern to me. My son has asthma problems. We will be about 2 miles away from the smoke stack. The region already has the worste air quality in the country. We moved here from the city because we wanted a clean, healthy, beautiful environment to raise our kids, but someone has big plans to make a boat load of money. Unfortunatley, big money beats little people most of the time. Most of the time. We want this to be an example of the people winning the battle with a grass roots movement. We have spread the word and we are gaining momentum. Nobody I've talked to in my neighborhood is supporting the idea of having this power plant so close. Especially since we don't need it. The developers will try to give you a rosey outlook on the project, but that fact is it's a hazard. The gob pile has been there for over 50 years and nothing has been done until now. We don't need the electricity. He can sinply cover the pile and reclaim the site without burning the waste coal, but there is no money in that solution for his pocket and the pockets of the politicians with which he has aligned himslef. There is no such ting as clean coal.

The construction of the Beech Hollow Energy Project by Robinson Power Company LLC (aka Bologna Coal Company) has worried me since first learning of the proposal on March 7, 2005. On that date, DEP and RPC held a public meeting to tell the community about the project yet they held the meeting in a neighboring town, not the host municipality.  I wondered why. 

I became increasingly worried when the DEP issued the air permit for the plant just days before tougher federal regulations on power plant emissions went into effect.   Again I wondered why.

I still wonder if the project's permits address the recent issue of Mercury emissions?

I still wonder if the project's mining permit has undergone the necessary updates and major modifications required to turn a waste coal site into the largest fly ash impoundment in the nation?  

I still wonder if the DEP will ever require that the impoundment be lined to protect our water?

Another big wonder is why the DEP continues to urge this project along.  Could it be because the owner of the plant holds a position on the Pa DEP's Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority where he is the Treasurer?  

Is this also why the state, although in a Budget Crisis will set aside taxpayer's money to assist in paying for this project and other projects owned by the same PEDA Treasurer?

Keep in mind that in an EPA report from 2005, the site in question was NOT contributing to the issue of Acid Mine Drainage to the Raccoon Creek Watershed.  The site has been dormant for decades and revegetation has occurred.  This helps encapsulate the waste coal and diminishes AMD.  Leaving the pile alone would better protect our air, water and land, in my opinion.

Cat Lodge

Yes.  Thank you Mr. Rendell for selling out the people of Robinson Township, North Fayette, Oakdale, Carnegie, Mt. Lebanon and other surrounding areas.

Since 2002, Bologna gave more than $20,000 to Sen. Barry Stout of Washington County, who personally pushed McGinty to approve the Beech Hollow project.

And Bologna gave $21,000 to Gov. Ed Rendell since 2001. Almost half that amount went to Rendell after Bologna's company got its Beech Hollow permit.

And Bologna was appointed by Rendell to the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority, chaired by McGinty.

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

 I'm terrified!  I've even contacted The Senate Committee that oversees the EPA and have sent them a packette of information in order for them to launch a formal investigation.  I don't see how our elected officials can allow the added pollution when our air already fails the federal standard set by the EPA.  There should be a moratorium placed on permitting any new polluting industry, at least until our air meets the federal standard.  There should be NO new coal waste power plants put into operation until we find a method for removing mercury from fish.  The latest studies show that 25% of the fish tested from United States rivers and streams have mercury levels higher than is safe for human consumption and that coal waste power plants are the primary cause of contamination.  What percentage of our food has to be unsafe for consumption before the EPA and the DEP stop pandering to the coal industry??  The worst part about all this to me is that 90% of our neighbors have no clue what catastrophic damage this power plant will do to ALL OF WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA!!  Ignorance is said to be bliss, but not when you or your family members are dying from the breathing related illnesses and the cancer this will cause.  I'm organizing communities with a notification system to help us stand together against this and other important issues for a rapidly growing citizen group named ACT (Action for Change Today).  If you'd like to volunteer, just send me an e-mail along with your phone number, and I'll start working with you on your community.  Numbers talk!!  jopost1@comcast.net  

 When I first learned of the coal fired power plant, I was horrified!! If it were not for an email chain, I would not have known until it was probably too late. More people in our community (and surrounding communities) need to be educated on this, and know that they can take a stand against it for the health of us and our families. We already have asthma in our family - I can't imagine something so senseless making us worse. Seems like a no-brainer -- keep it away!!!! And we (SW PA) will not even reap the benefits (which are minimal) of the energy produced from the coal. VERY scary!!

VERY CONCERNED! I didn’t even know about it until a few months ago, when a neighbor mentioned it. If more people in our area knew about it, they would be upset too. But it is just not widely known.

My husband and I have a new baby and do not want her to grow up with this power plant in her backyard, causing her health problems. We are thinking about buying a single-family-home and we like living in this area, but we are waiting to decide if we will stay until some decisions are made about this power plant.

Worried? Indeed! What with the second worst air in the entire country, we don't need more air pollution blowing over Pittsburgh, let alone the Robinson neighborhood. What good is profiting ourselves into extinction? Sure, we need jobs, but the jobs we need are ones that have a positive impact on health and safety not a negative one. As for the GOP piles, Pennsylvania is scarred by them all over the landscape. However, there is no safe way to rid the landscape of them at the present time. Disturbing them will only create more toxic run-off and pollute the ground water which ultimately ends up coming out of out kitchen faucets. It isn't just the Beech Hollow proposal that is a problem. We really need to think before we act. Do we really need more coal powered pollution or is there a better way.

I say no to any new power plants built with legacy technology. Getting rid of GOB piles should be a national and state priority without killing the inhabitants.

Everyone in Western PA should be worried about this project for three reasons.

1. The health of our citizens and the health of our economy are at stake. Forget about the few patronage jobs this project could create. Think about the jobs lost because companies would never think of locating or relocating in our region because of the unhealthy, unclean, and unregulated mess this project would create. Think about the potential future leaders of our region who leave our area to escape the air and political pollution.

2. Our political representatives are not representing our interests; they are pushing the profits of their campaign contributors. Not only are they not representing us, they have created smoke screens and scare tactics to ensure we do not find out about their actions and the consequences of their behaviors. For the governor to appoint someone to the PADEP who could even be slightly perceived to be involved in an industry known for creating toxic pollution is beyond my belief. And then to push an application through the DEP approval process in one week where it normally takes at least three months reeks of favoritism. And I do not mean favoritism to the voting public or anything closely resembling a concern for the environment.

3. Somehow, all of this is flying under the radar of the EPA. This is our national environmental watchdog. This is not a state's rights issue; this is a national problem. The world has been talking about air, water, and land pollution for more than 40 years. If the EPA were doing its job, we would never be having this discussion.

In the old western movies, the good guys wore white hats and fought to protect the townspeople and ranchers from greedy robber barons. Today, the robber barons bought up all the white hats and are using them to cover up and promote their profit-driven agendas on an unsuspecting, uninformed, and under-represented voter base.

The Beech Hollow Energy Project  (clever to choose such an innocuous name) is designed to line the pockets of its backers and the public be dammed. There is no such thing as clean coal so clean GOB is an oxymoron of the highest order.  This is a project of alchemy designed to change the GOB into gold for its backers while changing it into fly ash for the residents who, while the process runs its course, must endure the unconscionable pollution that will result. If any of the elected representatives involved in approving this project are unaware of the negatives accompanying a fly ash dump, perhaps they should visit Kingston Tennessee.  This project must not proceed.

 I am extremely worried over this proposed site as well.  It is very, very close to where I live, and it looks to be a site that will generate major pollution, and poses great health risks.  I am also very leery of the fact that its permit was rushed thru, and passed only one day before stricter air control measures were to take effect.  To me, that signals that they KNOW that their plant will be harmful to the environment and to people, and they want to 'get away' with greater amounts of pollution than has now been deemed to be safe.  That shows that the company, as well as the administration, truly do not care about our welfare.

I care about the welfare of my children .... I don't want them to be exposed to unsafe levels of pollution, especially the pollution that this plant would create.  I don't want my only hope to be that my employer may move me ... I want to stay in Pittsburgh, and in North Fayette, but not if I'm going to be beside a major source of pollution that's unnecessary for our power needs, and will damage the health and well-being of my family.

Don't build this plant!!!!

 Who wouldn't be worried about the power plant, but does anyone know about the drilling that is going to done within 300 feet of Fort Cherry Schools????   Yet another thing to educate youself about!!!