Across America, more than 2,000 coal ash ponds—swamps of toxic sludge left over from burning coal—are leaking toxins into the groundwater of communities.
These are not relics of the past; they are ticking time bombs threatening human health, ecosystems, and the future.
The remarkable thing, however, is that buried within these toxic dumps is a gold mine of opportunities, including solving the rare earths issue with China, creating high-paying union jobs, stopping toxic metals from seeping into the drinking water of low-income communities, providing an alternative to mining the deep seabed, and creating a self-sustaining business.
Coal ash is the second-largest industrial waste stream in the United States, containing mercury, arsenic, lead, and other toxins known to cause cancer and reproductive harm. These unlined pits are disproportionately located in low-income communities and communities of color—modern-day sacrifice zones for the fossil fuel economy.
At the same time, they contain rare earth elements including samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium, yttrium, as well as metals like lithium, aluminum, and cobalt—all the essential materials needed to build solar panels, electric vehicles, wind turbines, and batteries needed for the clean energy transformation.
Training union workers for the jobs of tomorrow
One of the most exciting aspects of turning coal waste into wealth is a pathway for coal workers—those previously and currently employed in the plants and mines that created the problem—to become the heroes of the solution.
Union electricians, operators, heavy equipment drivers, and pipefitters already possess the skills needed for coal ash remediation and mineral recovery. With targeted federal and state investment in workforce development, thousands could be trained to transition into high-paying, union-protected jobs cleaning up coal ash ponds and extracting strategic materials.
These are not gig economy jobs or low-wage scraps, they are high paying, dignified, skilled careers in environmental engineering, materials processing, and public health restoration.
Alternatives to ocean destruction and foreign dependence
Turning coal sludge into rare earth minerals would also address two of the biggest challenges facing the energy transition: where we get our minerals, and how we extract them.
Today, the United States imports more than 80% of its rare earth elements from China, which recently began restricting exports of critical materials as part of an escalating trade war.
Some companies are pushing for deep seabed mining to source rare earth minerals, an incredibly risky endeavor that threatens ocean ecosystems we barely understand. We don’t need to destroy the ocean floor or be held hostage by foreign governments.
Environmental justice, national security, and economic revitalization
This plan goes beyond sourcing minerals. It’s about correcting a legacy of environmental racism, defending national supply chains, and proving that the clean energy transition doesn’t have to leave workers or communities behind.
We can’t afford to delay as these coal ash ponds leak poisons into our groundwater – today. Children are growing up next to these toxic lagoons and we have a once-in-a-generation chance to turn this historic tragedy into triumph.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Inflation Reduction Act already provide funding mechanisms to support clean energy supply chains and environmental remediation. What’s needed now is a targeted investment initiative to map, fund, and accelerate the cleanup and recovery of coal ash sites, with strong labor standards, environmental safeguards, and community benefits.
From extraction to regeneration
The Department of Energy’s own research confirms that many of these sites have economically viable concentrations of rare earth minerals. The coal industry dumped them, now, we can harvest them to power the future. What was once waste can become wealth. What was once a health threat can become a health solution. What was once a source of inequality can become a model for environmental justice.
The promise of a “just transition” doesn’t have to be theoretical. It can be real, local, and transformative especially in regions like Appalachia, the Midwest, and the Southeast where fossil jobs are vanishing, and the next chapter is yet unwritten.
Let’s not miss this golden opportunity to feed two birds with one scone. We can power the clean energy future with the remnants of the extractive past and ensure that the workers and neighborhoods who paid the highest price are the first to benefit.
Andy Behar is the CEO of As You Sow.
