Interactive Map of US Coal Tar Sealant Bans & Restricted-Use Areas Now Online!
By far the most popular page on this site is the list of coal tar sealant bans and restricted-use jurisdictions around the country. With so much misinformation out there about bans, it seems like a reasonable thing to do. I would recommend caution to the end-user. Austin’s first violation of the ban was by a […]
California Coal Tar Seal Ban Narrowly Passes First Step
Assemblymember Jared Huffman, with support from a host of California environmental organizations, successfully led this week’s committee hearing to a 5 to 4 vote! Huffman compared the exposure to coal tar sealant dust to secondhand smoke and said that it only takes one parking lot with coal tar sealant on it to expose people to […]
Bans Keep Spreading in Minnesota; Shoreview Makes #17
Another suburban Minneapolis-St. Paul community has passed a coal tar sealant ban. Earlier this week I was contacted by a staff member who said Shoreview passed a ban at their March 19, 2012 City Council Meeting. This passage marks 17 separate municipal coal tar sealant bans in Minnesota alone. An interactive map of […]
City of Austin Names Creek in Honor of Coal Tar Sealant Pollution Pioneer Tom Bashara
It has been a year now, since the death of my friend and colleague, Tom Bashara. Tom was the first to figure out the problem of coal tar sealant pollution. Recently the City of Austin named the location of his discovery “Bashara Creek.” The following is what accompanied the announcement: On April 4, 2012, the […]
16th Minnesota Community to Pass A Coal Tar Sealer Ban: Rosemount
Tonight, the City of Rosemount, Minnesota became the 16th community in Minnesota to pass a ban of coal tar pavement sealcoat. Many suburban Minneapolis communities have awakened to the costs of cleaning up coal tar residues from stormwater facilities. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency estimates the cost to cleanup just the public facilities between $1 […]
University of Michigan Continues Its Pledge to be Coal Tar Free
I wanted to take the opportunity to thank the University of Michigan for quietly sticking with their commitment to be free of coal tar sealants. A recent report chronicles their efforts that are part of their “Good Housekeeping” provisions of their NPDES (National Pollution Discharge Elimination System) stormwater permit. They reviewed over 150 construction plans for conformity with […]
California’s Bob Wieckowski Fights Against Coal Tar Sealant Ban
In a strange twist, Assemblymember Wieckowski (D) is refusing to allow the California coal tar sealant ban to be heard in committee. Unfortunately Wieckowski is the Chair of the Assembly Environmental Safety & Toxic Materials Committee and is blocking its hearing. He doesn’t think coal tar is a problem in California. Since the Assemblymember won’t take […]
Falcon Heights Sets Its Sights on Being Coal Tar Free
This week the City of Falcon Heights, Minnesota became the 15th community in Minnesota to ban the use of coal tar pavement sealants. Falcon Heights (pop. about 5,500) is a Minneapolis suburb and contains much of the University of Minnesota within its corporate limits. The Council considered the issue with a positive staff recommendation, minimal […]
Congressman Doggett Chronicles Concerns That Led to National Coal Tar Ban Legislation
from the March/April Issue of the Austin Region Sierra Club re: H.R. 4166 The Coal Tar Sealant Reduction Act of 2012 by Rep. Lloyd Doggett Not Just a Problem at Barton Springs In 2003 when Austin officials raised initial concerns about the environmental and health impact of coal tar sealants used on playgrounds, parking […]
Take a Parking Lot Sealer Tour with USGS Researcher
This video and associated story were shot during the coal tar sealant ban discussions in the State of Washington last year, yet it remains a valuable resource to show viewers the issue and summarize the USGS findings. The researcher, Dr. Peter Van Metre, has authored several research papers on coal tar sealant pollution.