Blog Archive
Alabama Power Seeks 500 Megawatts of Renewable Energy
Perhaps one of Alabama’s best kept secrets is that the sun shines here just like it does in other Sunbelt states. That’s the conclusion you might draw based on the state’s lackluster performance in the solar energy sector. Alabama has long lagged behind the rest of...
BREAKING: Board of Health Denies GASP’s Request for a Hearing on Walter Coke Air Permit
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — July 8, 2015 — The Jefferson County Board of Health, the governing body of the Department of Health (JCDH), voted tonight to dismiss a request by GASP for a hearing on the issuance of a key air pollution permit for the Walter Coke facility in...
MATS Rule Not Dead, Will Protect Public Health
In April, I wrote about the new Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) rule that had just gone into effect: "GASP strongly supports the MATS rule because it will be crucial in improving air quality and public health. Until recently, there were no national limits on...
GASP Named a Finalist for BBJ Nonprofit Awards
GASP is honored to be named a finalist for the Birmingham Business Journal's 2015 Nonprofit Awards! We're in the running in the "Under $350k (revenue)" category with two outstanding organizations: TechBirmingham and KultureCity. We asked our executive director to tell...
Citizen Science Movement Can Help Solve Birmingham’s Pollution Problem
On Tuesday, I sent a letter to Heather McTeer Toney, EPA Region IV administrator, asking that her agency invest in “next generation” air monitoring in Birmingham to gather data, empower citizens and improve public health for northern Birmingham communities. “It has...
PSC’s ‘Misplaced Priorities’ Lead to Higher Utility Bills for Alabamians
A report titled "What Public Service? How the Alabama Public Service Commission’s misplaced priorities put utility profits over people" was released last week by Greater Birmingham Ministries. GASP has been seeking transparency at the PSC for the past two years with a...
GASP Wins Hermes Creative Award for ‘Toxic City: Birmingham’s Dirty Secret’
Updated on Tuesday, May 5 to include link to film. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — GASP is proud to announce that “Toxic City: Birmingham’s Dirty Secret” won a Gold Hermes Creative Award in the documentary category. The award is given by the Association of Marketing and...
Mercury and Air Toxics Standards Will Improve Air Quality, Protect Health
On December 16, 2011, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed a rule to reduce emissions of toxic air pollutants from power plants called the mercury and air toxics standards, or MATS. The aim is to reduce emissions from new and existing coal- and oil-fired...
Why Did the Board of Health Dismiss GASP’s Appeal of ABC Coke’s Permit?
The Permit The Clean Air Act gives the Environmental Protection Agency the authority to issue what are known as Title V Operating Permits for facilities that qualify as major sources of air pollution (e.g., manufacturing facilities, power plants, and chemical plants)....
Board of Health Dismisses GASP’s Request for Hearing on ABC Coke Permit
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2011 named ABC Coke — one of Alabama’s worst toxic air polluters — a potentially responsible party for contamination in northern Birmingham. ABC Coke’s Title V Operating Permit was up for renewal last year, and GASP...
Update on GASP’s Appeal of the ABC Coke Permit
GASP has been raising awareness of the toxic air pollution affecting Birmingham since our inception. As soon as the EPA named the potentially responsible parties (“PRPs”) for the contamination in the 35th Avenue Superfund Site, we got to work advocating for stronger...
Reducing Air Pollution Improves Children's Lung Health
"The current report and other studies suggest that further improvement in air quality may have beneficial public health effects." This month, a study of the long-term effects of air pollution found that improving air quality also improves the respiratory function of...
Civil Rights Complaint Alleges Environmental Discrimination by Health Department
GASP petitions EPA to investigate environmental discrimination in northern Birmingham neighborhoods suffering from toxic air pollution BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (March 3, 2015) — GASP today announced that it has filed a second civil rights complaint against the...
Guest Blog Post: Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired
"I am sick and tired of being sick and tired." – Fannie Lou Hamer, Civil Rights and Voting Rights Leader On Monday, Feb. 2, I was admitted into UAB’s Spain-Wallace hospital for a lung infection due to an exacerbation related to my cystic fibrosis. Last Monday, Feb....
Alabama Power Customers ‘Left in the Dark’ by Public Service Commission
A study released today by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) confirms what GASP has been saying for the past two years: lack of transparency by the Alabama Public Service Commission hurts consumers. “The Alabama PSC ‘regulates’ Alabama...
Left in the Dark: Report Shines Light on Lack Of Transparency at Alabama PSC
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Feb. 26, 2015) — A study published today by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis shows the Alabama Public Service Commission conducting much of its most important oversight of Alabama Power in private. The report, by David...
State Department, EPA Team Up to Monitor Global Air Quality
The U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency revealed this week that they are teaming up to launch a "new air quality partnership" focused on fine particle pollution (PM 2.5). The EPA will set up air monitors at U.S. embassies and...
GASP Files Civil Rights Complaint Against JCDH
GASP has filed a civil rights environmental discrimination complaint with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency against the Jefferson County Department of Health (JCDH) for its issuance of the operating permit for ABC Coke, a division of Drummond Company located in...
Tell the EPA to Strengthen Ozone Standards
For many people, unhealthy air is synonymous with smog — the dirty fog that blankets most major urban and industrial areas. Ozone, the primary ingredient that makes up smog, is one of six criteria air pollutants regulated under the National Ambient Air Quality...
Gasp Files Comments in Support of National Priorities List Proposal
Gasp has filed comments in support of the EPA's proposed rule to add the 35th Avenue Superfund site to the National Priorities List. "The NPL is intended primarily to guide the EPA in determining which sites warrant further investigation to assess the nature and...