"The Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Civil Rights has agreed to investigate a complaint filed by residents of a largely African-American community in Alabama where millions of tons of coal ash were dumped between 2009 and 2010."

"The complaint, filed earlier this year, alleges that Alabama environmental regulators violated the civil rights of residents -- predominantly black and among the poorest in the state -- by renewing and modifying the permit issued to operators of the Arrowhead landfill near Uniontown in 2011.

Residents have cited a variety of ill effects from the landfill, including frequent foul odors, respiratory and eye irritation, headaches, dizziness, nausea and vomiting, dust, noise and decreased property values, among other complaints."

Tom Zeller Jr. reports for the Huffington Post June 19, 2012. [2]