FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, June 9, 2010 

Kentuckians express frustration about water

contamination, health risks from plantʼs coal ash waste

Residents ask EKPC, Army Corps to consider cleaner, more affordable energy options

WINCHESTER, Ky. – A steady stream of Kentuckians almost unanimously told federal officials
on Tuesday night that it would be reckless and publicly irresponsible for them to approve a
needed permit for construction of a coal-burning power plant in Clark County, and that cleaner,
more affordable options to the plant must be considered as directed by federal law.

East Kentucky Power Cooperative’s proposed Smith plant continues to be plagued by a long list
of problems, which prompted strong opposition to the project from co-op members and local
residents. More than a hundred attended the hearing in Winchester, and all but one of 32 people
who spoke voiced concerns about issues such as mercury poisoning, potential contamination of
their drinking water, and the prospect of having bills skyrocket as EKPC’s poor financial
condition continues to spiral downward.

Mike Hogg, an elementary school principal who lives in Berea, said the link between toxic
mercury and childhood disabilities is one of many rational reasons for officials to deny the
permit for the Smith plant. “It is my responsibility to keep kids safe as they come through our
doors when they are 5,” Hogg said. “But mercury enters our air and water and impacts us for
forever. The cost is phenomenal. The long-term impact is tremendous, on society, on our
families.”

Tuesday’s hearing dealt specifically with a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that,
among other things, would allow EKPC to dump millions of tons of toxic coal-ash waste, which
contains mercury, into and near miles of streams that feed into the Kentucky River.

Coal ash also contains a number of other hazardous and cancer-causing chemicals including arsenic,
boron, cadmium, chromium, lead, selenium and thallium. Under current Kentucky law, a liner is not
required for such disposal, even though the EPA is now considering categorizing coal-ash as
hazardous waste. The drinking water supply intakes for both Lexington and Winchester are located
just a few miles downstream from the plant site.

Miranda Brown told Army Corps of Engineers officials that more she has learned about the
Smith plant, its huge costs and potential impact on drinking water and public health, “the more
I’ve become stunned.

“Coal ash leaking into our drinking water … upstream from Winchester municipal drinking
water supply. Ninety-four percent of my drinking water comes from the Kentucky River, and the
city doesn’t have a plan to deal with a coal-ash spill,” said Brown, a junior at Murray State
University whose lifetime home is just outside Winchester.

EPA has already determined that there are significant problems with permits for the Smith plant.
In comments released last week, agency officials identified serious deficiencies regarding
potential air pollution and water contamination from the plant, and also determined that EKPC
failed to consider less-polluting options, as required by law, such as natural gas, energy
conservation and renewable energy.

In April, independent testing at disposal ponds and coal-ash landfills in Kentucky found cases in
which heavy metals and other toxic chemicals are seeping from the sites, including at EKPC’s
Spurlock coal plant, where arsenic was detected in groundwater at levels far above what is
deemed safe for human health.

And underlying the technical problems with the Smith plant are EKPC’s grave financial
difficulties. An audit ordered by the PSC and released in April detailed numerous financial and
management problems and determined that one of the biggest financial risks the co-op faces is
the accumulation of nearly a billion dollars in added debt to pay for the Smith plant.

“Coal is dirty. It pollutes our air and water, and building the Smith plant will add more of a toxic
burden,” said Mike Hannon, a retired air quality inspector and Blue Grass Energy customer. “We
need cleaner, more energy-efficiency technologies.

“As a Blue Grass Energy customer, I am greatly concerned because EKPC is broke. The Smith
plant will only increase our energy costs and further pollute our environment. We need to
diversify energy production.”

The Army Corps of Engineers is accepting written comments on the project until June 18. They
can be submitted online to: lrl.regulatorypubliccomment@usace.army.mil.

CONTACTS

• Elizabeth Crowe, KEF, 859-986-0868    www.kyenvironmentalfoundation.org/cleanair.html
• Sara Pennington, KFTC, 606-276-9933    www.kftc.org/stop-smith
• Wallace McMullen, Sierra Club, 502-228-0016    www.sierraclub.org/coal/ky/