Renewed Calls For Statewide Ban of Coal Tar Sealants in Minnesota
The Rice Creek Watershed District is shown in the colored areas above. In spite of efforts throughout the State of Minnesota, calls continue for the uniform outlaw of the use of coal tar pavement sealcoats. For example in November a watershed management of group covering 4 urban and rural counties called for “a state-wide approach” […]
Two More Minnesota Communities Pass Bans Last Night
Last night two Minnesota communities, Shorewood and Woodland, passed their final ordinance readings and enacted the 27th and 28th municipal bans of coal tar pavement products in the state. Both communities are situated on the southern shore of Lake Minnetonka. Woodland’s ban includes the prohibition to both apply and sell coal tar sealers.
2012 Coal Tar Freedom Review: American Emancipation Continues
2012 marked advancements in our understanding of the science of coal tar sealant pollution, greater legislative restrictions on its use and more extensive media coverage of the topic in popular press. Interestingly this week also commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation by President Lincoln back in 1862. More on that after we look […]
New Coal Tar Sealer Ban in Texas Dwarfs “Big D” in Area
Details of November’s decision by the Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA) to ban coal tar based sealants in sensitive areas are becoming a bit clearer now. Covering an area more than Big “D” Dallas itself and including approximately 60,000 citizens, this ban is the 4th largest in land area in the US to date. The ban […]
Shorewood, MN’s Coal-Tar-Free Gift to Lake Christmas Delayed
Last night, Shorewood, Minnesota delayed making a final vote on a coal tar sealant ban in order to tighten up the language of the ordinance. Shorewood, Minnesota includes much of Christmas Lake, interestingly named after one of the original surveyors of Minneapolis. The community, with a population over 7,000, is well known for its year-round […]
Michigan Moves to Ban Coal Tar Sealants…Again
For the second time in the last 3 years, the State of Michigan has begun the process to ban coal tar sealers from use in the entire state. This would be the second state to pass such a ban. The State of Washington passed the nation’s first statewide ban in 2011. The ban in Michigan […]
Texas Aquifer District Stomps Out Coal Tar in Sensitive Zones
Earlier today the Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA) voted to ban coal-tar sealcoat from two of its most sensitive areas. Originally the District contemplated a ban in all recharge and contributing zones, but a recommendation from Aquifer Management and Planning (AMP) Committee was to study the item further and include it in with a Habitat Conservation […]
Election 2012: A View from the Parking Lot
As the dust settles over the most expensive presidential election in our nation’s history, one may ask, “how did candidates fare that have taken a political stand on the issue of coal tar sealant pollution?” During this election cycle, I am not so naive to think that this was a deciding factor, but it may […]
First Known Federal Agency Goes Coal Tar Free
Credit: U.S. Geological Survey; Department of the Interior/USGS; U.S. Geological Survey/photo by P.K. Cascio According the Bill Fulk, Chief, Design & Construction Section at U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the USGS has sent out a memorandum to all of its facility managers that coal tar sealants should no longer be used on any of their paved surfaces. As far […]
New Report Calls for “Decisive Action” to Address Sealant Residue in the Mighty Mississippi
Decisive action is needed to address PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) from coal tar pavement sealants and other contaminants of concern in the Mississippi River according to a recently published report. These are part of the problems found in the section of the River running through the Minneapolis metropolitan area by a joint effort by the […]