How Runaway Slaves Could Save a Kentucky Community from Toxic Coal Ash

I'm late getting to this, but it's too potentially wonderful to overlook.

Joe Sonka at Leo's Fat Lip:

LG&E has faced over a year of difficulty getting their permits in order to destroy pristine land — featuring a legally protected cave — in Trimble County with a toxic coal ash landfill adjacent to their power plant.

While LG&E’s past obstacles have been the discovery of the cave and an underground stream, their new one is of rich historical value, as the cave might well have been used in the underground railroad to rescue slaves fleeing the South.

“In the opinion of this investigator, the ‘Wentworth Lime Cave’ serves as a very real example of a ‘holding’ or way station to aid slave escapes along the Ohio River,” concluded Alicestyne Turley, a historian and contractor hired by LG&E consultants to review markings found inside the cave.

The U.S. Army Corps is reviewing the study and other information as part of a wetlands destruction permit required for the landfill.

“We will just have to look at the options to see what can be done,” said Todd Hornback, a corps spokesman.

LG&E denies the evidence — shocking — but others hope the energy behemoth chooses not to bury history with tons of mercury and arsenic.

Lauren McGrath, a Sierra Club representative who is following the issue, urged the company to preserve the cave.

“Sure, LG&E can legally choose to destroy the cave, but LG&E’s leadership can also choose to act with dignity and deference to an extremely powerful historical and cultural site by preserving that area,” she said. “Doing anything less would be morally appalling.”

Well, I suppose that settles the matter for good, because we know that LG&E would never dare display morally appalling behavior.

The Sierra Club, along with Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, was part of a coalition that forced 880-pound gorilla East Kentucky Power Cooperative to abandon plans for a new coal-burning electricity plant three years ago. LG&E's a tougher opponent, though, and the Corps really hates tree-huggers.