Louisville Gas & Electric (LG&E), owned by E.ON U.S., has requested permission from the Kentucky Public Service Commission to increase rates.

Why, you may be wondering? Well, uh, to finance the construction of two new coal ash ponds in Trimble County. That’s within the floodplain of the Ohio River. 40 minutes from Louisville and the Louisville Water Company’s intake facility.

This is happening just a year after the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston coal ash disaster. Great timing.

“A year ago today, more than a billion gallons of toxic coal ash – waste from a coal-fired power plant – flooded a quiet residential community in Tennessee when the dam holding the ash back failed”, stated Wallace McMullen, Chair of the Sierra Club Cumberland Chapter Energy Committee. “However, as the EPA discusses new coal ash regulations, LG&E is proposing to saddle its customers with a costly, public health liability”

Isn’t it about time LG&E/E.ON applied responsible management practices instead of putting countless thousands in danger by exposing them to hazardous coal waste?

The Kingston spill contained 2.66 million pounds of ten toxic pollutants – including 140,000 pounds or arsenic. So you can imagine the potential for damage in a major metropolitan area. And the Ohio River already receives 31 million pounds of toxic discharges every year – twice the level of any other river in the United States.

EPA estimates suggest there’s a 1 in 50 chance for nearby residents to develop cancer from exposure to arsenic leaking into drinking water, according to a release.

And you thought coal mining only impacted Eastern Kentucky.