An environmental issue that looms over the Eastern part of my home state of Kentucky are sludge ponds. These are ponds that are created from residue that is left over from the mining process and are collected at the base of coal mining sites. They are located over communities and their water ways. In some cases, these ponds have been known to burst from their barriers where they can possibly leak into water ways, kill aquatic species, kill humans, kill forest wildlife, and cause millions worth of damage. A specific example of something like this happening in Kentucky that has been catastrophic for the area of Martin County is the sludge spill of 2000. “An estimated 250 million gallons of coal mine fine refuse slurry were released from a 72-acre impoundment operated by Martin County Coal Corporation (MCCC). The release occurred as a result of a sudden and unexpected breach into an underground mine” (Stroud & Kelly, 2000) Luckily, no humans were killed in this incident, but it is an environmental disaster that still effects the waterways and residents of Martin County to this day because “the spilled Waste Material entered the Wolf Creek, Rockcastle Creek, and the Big Sandy River watersheds and traveled downstream from the Site, into several tributaries including: Coldwater Fork, Rockcastle Creek, Tug Fork and the Big Sandy River.” (EPA, 2001) These waterways have since been deemed impaired by EPA standards and no longer support life of any kind. Many Martin County resident’s lives have also been directly affected by the damage left behind because most at the time of the spill still used private wells on their property. Permanent damage to their wells has forced them to hook up to available city water. This has proven to be a challenge of its own. With their drop in local jobs many in this area have fell below the poverty line, making it very difficult to pay for the price of clean water. To add salt to this wound the “Martin County Water Board voted to ask the Kentucky Public Service Commission for permission for a 10% rate increase.” (MCCLANAHAN, 2020) If given the permission this would make the challenge of receiving clean drinking water from the city even harder for Martin County residents. According to a study created to understand the impact of the spill on the community “37% of Martin Counties 12,578 population were below the poverty line at the time of the spill.” (McSpirit, et al. 2005) Having so many already in poverty the spill was an economical disaster for Martin County. With the dangers of coal mining limiting jobs many have been scrambling to meet ends meet since. Almost twenty years later and the effects can still be felt with a “population of 11,195 and a poverty percentage of 34%.” (US Census, 2019) The decrease of employment by coal companies can be seen in the annual Kentucky Coal Reports. In the year 2000 there were 862 Martin County residents employed by coal industries making up 29.9% of the counties workforce. (Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, 2001) Flash forward to the year 2017 and only 281 Martin County residents are employed by coal industries making up 11.4% of the workforce. (Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, 2017) This has forced Martin County residents to look for employment elsewhere with an average drive time of 34 minutes (Us Census, 2019) this indicates that most are driving out of town for their jobs. Which adds more unwanted and sometimes unaffordable costs. The loss of jobs and raising cost of living in Martin County has created a level of distrust that started with the sludge spill of 2000 and still exists today. While surveys from 2000 and 2005 show “an increase in the desire to stay in Martin County and a decrease in concern with drinking water and coal waste in Martin County” (McSpirit, et al. 2005) there are news reports with newer dates that can be found with interviews from citizens that contradict those findings. CNN reporter Nadia Kounang interviewed Martin County resident BarbiAnn Maynard who stated “We don’t really know what to do. We’re just scared of the water and have been for years,” (Kounang, 2018) Political reactions have also added to the distrust of the Government in Martin County. There was no time served for the disastrous event that has sent Martin County spiraling ever since, only fines paid by the company. The lack of national publicity and secretiveness surrounding the sludge spill has created a cloud of suspicion around the lead politicians involved with coal in Kentucky. Not only should our politicians be more concerned about other looming sludge ponds in Eastern Kentucky, but they should also be concerned with the issues Eastern Kentuckians are still facing due to the sludge spill of 2000; such as availability of clean drinking water. There are two possible solutions for the problems my state is facing. One that is a short-term fix and one that would involve a long-term plan/solution; portable water treatment stations and switching to Solar Energy. A well-known water crisis in America is that of Flint, Michigan. In the past year, a nonprofit organization called 501CTHREE has been partnering with community action programs to provide safe drinking water to Flint, Michigan and Newark, New Jersey with the device called The Water Box. “Since its launch in 2019 The Water Box has been able to provide 38,283 gallons of safe and free water to the Flint community.” (501CTHREE,nd) With plans to expand their services in the future. Along with expanding they also plan to make blueprints available for The Water Box in the year 2021, to make this technology available to all who need it. While this is newer science it is not exactly a new idea, and it has been tried before. One study I was able to find occurred in Korea where they built a mobile filtration system called K-Water. It is much bigger than The Water Box design and is used to “detect six pesticides (carbendazim, hexaconazole, metolachlor, iprobenfos, isoprothiolane, and tebuconazole) and six pharmaceutical substances (acetaminophen, phenacetin, carbamazepine, sulfamethoxazole, ketoprofen, and pentoxifylline)” (Yu, et al. 2018) Their findings showed that “the QSAR model was useful as a screening tool with the MWTS to estimate the removal of OMPs for the ozonation. The combination of oxidation and GAC filtration could achieve a high removal rate for most of OMPs.” (Yu, et al. 2018) I believe that implementing an action plan to bring The Water Box to Eastern Kentucky could be beneficial in providing much needed clean water to communities such as Martin County and provide them with a short-term fix for their drinking water. This a plan that will require community actions of Martin County to contact 501CTHREE. With 2021 right around the corner community actions may even be able to purchase blueprints and bring The Water Box to its citizens. Funds for such a project would come from state funds provided to programs that support local communities. While current pandemic restrictions may hold up funds and resources this is a project that I think could be done within the next 2-5 years. A long-term fix for the threat of sludge ponds is to move our state towards a cleaner energy source such as solar energy. This is a solution that will take years to complete and a larger amount of time (roughly 5-10 years), money, and resources. The long-run benefits of this solution make it worth every ounce of blood, sweat, and tears. Not only would we be able to provide Kentuckians with clean energy sources, but we will have the opportunity to clean up our Eastern Kentucky ecosystems, create new jobs, and set an example for our country. If it can be done in coal country, it can be done anywhere. Not to mention putting an end to coal mining would eliminate any future sludge ponds. The idea of changing to a completely new solar energy system sounds terrifying, but other countries are trying it and proving that it is cost efficient overall. Studies in India “estimate the solar water pumping for irrigation purposes to be 9 million to 70 million pumping systems which corresponds to a diesel savings of 255 billion liter/year.” (Venkatachalam, et al. 2018) By switching their water pump systems to completely solar India is on track to many economic and environmental wins. “Economic analysis of replacing diesel-fed pumps with solar PV pumps reveal that the latter is highly cost-effective and at the same time it can help in bringing down the overall diesel consumption.” (Venkatachalam, et al. 2018) Following the lead of other countries and creating solar energy farms in Eastern Kentucky could prove to be their best chance for them to make their way back to the top of the list of mass energy producers. This is a plan that would affect the lives of Martin Countians in ways that many might not be thrilled with. At first there will be a transition period in which daily habits of residents are interrupted or may no longer be available. Just like any new technology it takes trial and error to get it right. I do whole heartedly believe that if a plan to switch to completely solar energy is implemented it will eventually prove to be beneficial environmentally and economically for Eastern Kentucky, just like it has in other countries. It would create clean energy jobs and help to lower overall utility costs giving the economy a much-needed boost. If nothing is done about coal mining in Kentucky it could prove to be catastrophic for Kentuckians in the future. If mining continues sludge ponds will also continue to be created to catch the left-over residues. Eventually this could lead to many more events such as the sludge spill of 2000. It could even lead to more disastrous events like that of the “1972 Buffalo Creek coal waste disaster in Buffalo Creek, West Virginia that killed 125 residents and obliterated communities downstream.” (Mcspirit, et al. 2005) As the number of sludge ponds increase so does the chance of more communities being affected by sludge pond spills. It will not only be Martin County residents that will be affect by a switch to solar energy. This will affect all Kentuckians, myself included. A switch to solar energy threatens all my worst personal habits that I have become reliant to, such as television, the internet, and lights. There is not a time of day that I am not using one if not all these things at once. I am learning that my terrible habits are only feeding the need for more energy. Ultimately, keeping the coal industry alive. By being strict with my energy usage and adamant about breaking habits I will be able to overcome this issue in time and it will help me to be better prepared for any challenges I may encounter in my switch to solar energy. ***If you would like to purchase the documentary sighted in this article you can do so at this link for $5. I highly recommend it! Resources 501CTHREE. (2020). The Water Box Safe, free, limitless water. Retrieved 2020, from https://www.501cthree.org/the-water-box EPA. (2000). UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY REGION4. Retrieved 2020, from https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-03/documents/martin_county_coal_89.pdf EPA. (2020). My Environment, 41224, Inez, Kentucky. Retrieved 2020, from https://geopub.epa.gov/myem/envmap/myenv.html?minx=-82.66881509999997&miny=37.737193400000066&maxx=-82.41281509999997&maxy=37.99319340000007&ve=9,37.864476,-82.540815&pText=41224,%20Inez,%20Kentucky&pTheme=home EPA. (2016). Basic Information about Surface Coal Mining in Appalachia. Retrieved 2020, from https://www.epa.gov/sc-mining/basic-information-about-surface-coal-mining-appalachia#what Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet. (2001). Kentucky Coal Facts – 7th Edition (2001-2002). Retrieved 2020, from https://eec.ky.gov/Energy/Coal%20Facts%20%20Annual%20Editions/Kentucky%20Coal%20Facts%20-%207th%20Edition%20(2001-2002).pdf Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet. (2017). Kentucky Coal Facts 17th Edition • 2017. Retrieved 2020, from https://eec.ky.gov/Energy/Coal%20Facts%20%20Annual%20Editions/Kentucky%20Coal%20Facts%20-%2017th%20Edition%20(2017).pdf Kounang, N. (2018). The Kentucky county where the water smells like diesel. Retrieved 2020, from https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/30/health/kentucky-water-crisis/index.html?fbclid=IwAR0l8s2TVRCih1QHWCm5LYe-NDiuTz0l9VQM6n4lG4a5smfT9adX1-eQqmo McClanahan, G. (2020). Martin County Water Board seeking a 10% water rate hike from KY PSC. Retrieved 2020, from https://wchstv.com/news/local/martin-county-water-board-seeking-a-10-water-rate-hike-from-ky-psc#:~:text=(WCHS%2FWVAH)%20%E2%80%94%20Those,an%20additional%20%245%20a%20month McSpirit, S., Scott, S., Hardesty, S., & Welch, R. (2005). EPA Actions in Post Disaster Martin County, Kentucky: An Analysis of Bureaucratic Slippage and Agency Recreancy. Journal of Appalachian Studies, 11(1/2), 30-59. Retrieved November 23, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/41446653 Salyer, R. (Director). (2005). Sludge [Video file]. Retrieved 2020, from https://appalshop.org/shop/sludge?fbclid=IwAR18MuQlaV14a0V1y9AGOIYhF00hUr6Q7BFQ3cWMrObUBF2tH9nvo_hhjqQ Shaunna L. Scott, Philip M. Westgate, & Stephanie McSpirit. (2016). The Long-Term Effects of a Coal Waste Disaster on Social Trust in Eastern Kentucky Updated. Journal of Appalachian Studies, 22(2), 261-274. doi:10.5406/jappastud.22.2.0261 Stroud, D., & Kelly, R. (2000, November). POLREP NUMBER 10 KENTUCKY/WEST VIRGINIA COAL SLURRY SPILL. Retrieved November, 2020, from https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-03/documents/polrep10.pdf QuickFacts Martin County, Kentucky. (2019). Retrieved 2020, from https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/martincountykentucky Venkatachalam, S. P. K., Kumar, D. S., Zhang, W., Srinivasan, D., & Sharma, A. (2018). Feasibility And Economic Analysis of Solar Energy Systems for Rural Area Applications. 2018 Asian Conference on Energy, Power and Transportation Electrification (ACEPT), Energy, Power and Transportation Electrification (ACEPT), 2018 Asian Conference On, 1–6. https://doi-org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1109/ACEPT.2018.8610850 Yu, Y., Choi, Y. H., Choi, J., Choi, S., & Maeng, S. K. (2018). Multi-barrier approach for removing organic micropollutants using mobile water treatment systems. Science of the Total Environment, 639, 331–338. https://doi-org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.05.079