FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 30th, 2026
CONTACT:
Katie Valentine, kvalentine@cacampaign.org, (770) 861-0397
Mia McPherson, mia@envirn.org, (734) 489-4357
Young people and people of color pay the price when cleanup is delayed
Detroit is not expendable: Federal Coal Ash Rollbacks Threaten Cleanup of Toxic Waste
Please see a recording of the press conference here.
Detroit, Michigan —On Tuesday, June 30, 2026, community leaders, public health experts, and environmental justice advocates discussed the EPA’s delays in the cleanup of coal ash in the Detroit/Wayne County area. The press conference highlighted what is at stake for local communities and the harm caused across the country.
Michigan Senator Stephanie Chang said: “Coal ash is a dangerous substance, a mix of pollutants, metals, carcinogens, including arsenic, boron, cobalt, chromium, lead, lithium, radium, and other heavy metals. And so what does that combination of pollutants mean? It means that people exposed to coal ash, either through their well water or air pollution or contact with contaminated soil, can get cancer, heart disease or other serious conditions. The Trump administration is trying to roll back EPA coal ash rules, and that is dangerous for public health and dangerous for our communities. Old unlined coal-ash sites are leaking hazardous materials into our groundwater and into our lakes and rivers. Here in the Great Lakes state and especially here in Detroit, where we are connected to our beloved Detroit River, we know that we cannot afford to go back.
Nick Leonard, Executive Director, Great Lakes Environmental Law Center, said: “Detroiters are struggling with high levels of air pollution. High levels of ozone pollution, high levels of fine particulate matter pollution, leading it to being named the asthma capital of the United States. And the Detroit River is still recovering from decades of overpollution, notably from the coal industry, that discharged dangerous chemicals into our water for decades without regulation. And now the coal industry is coming to the Trump EPA and saying we can’t afford to clean up our own mess. But Detroiters shouldn’t bear the burden of the coal industry refusing to take accountability for its pollution.”
Dr. Michael Simon, Retired Oncologist, Michigan Clinicians for Climate Action, said:
“As a physician, I am particularly concerned about the health impact of the proposed federal coal Ash rollback. I spent 35 years of my career in Detroit, treating and managing patients with cancer and other illnesses, many of which were either caused by or worsened by toxins associated with coal ash. It is a well-known fact that coal ash contains a litany of toxic chemicals and heavy metals, linked to various cancers, heart disease, thyroid disease, respiratory illness, neurological damage, and other serious health problems. Coal plants in the U.S. produce roughly 70 million tons of coal ash every year that end up in unlined ponds, landfills, and mines. Michigan has at least 18 coal ash ponds. And according to an analysis from Earthjustice, across the country, groundwater is polluted above federal standards at 91% of the plants. You don’t have to look too far to see the Belle River coal power plant sitting right outside Detroit. It is well documented that people living near coal power plants face higher rates of hospitalization, chronic lung disease, and premature deaths. Yes, that is death. Pregnant women are more likely to experience adverse birth outcomes, such as low birth weight. And research suggests that exposure to coal ash can harm our children’s cognitive development. That is our children, our grandchildren, everyone’s children.”
Ken Whittaker, Executive Director, Michigan United, said:
“The Trump EPA wants to erase the coal ash protections communities organized for in 2015 and 2024. Those rules are what forced power companies to monitor groundwater and clean up toxic ash that they left behind. Now this administration wants to undo those protections, not because the science changed, but because corporations ask them to.
“ But they don’t want to tell you about Belle River. Belle River is DTE’s coal plant in China Township, which is converting from coal to gas. And they want you to believe that that solves the problem, but it doesn’t. Because the coal ash remains on the site. In 2023, the EPA reviewed how DTE was storing coal ash and unlined ponds at Bell River and the Monroe plant on Lake Erie. At both sites, they found DTE’s groundwater protection to be inadequate. This rollback makes it harder for the EPA to hold companies like DTE Energy and consumers’ energy accountable when they fail to protect our water.”
These delays will only lead to more health problems for people of color and young people going forward in Detroit and across Michigan. We need the federal government to step up, not back down to these polluters.
###
About Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments:
Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (ANHE) supports nurses in promoting planetary health and equity globally by educating and leading the nursing profession, advancing research, incorporating planet-safe practices, and influencing policy.
