Climate Activist Douses West AL Chamber President Kyle South With Water During Hearing

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Video taken by an investigative journalist during a hearing in Montgomery on Wednesday shows a climate activist angrily pouring a bottle of water on the head of former state representative and current Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama President Kyle South.

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Journalist Lee Hedgepeth of Inside Climate News was in attendance for the hearing on Wednesday, which focused on Alabama Power's storage of coal ash — a longstanding issue as it relates to Alabama's waterways and the overall environmental health of the state.

In a video from the hearing, a barefooted woman Hedgepeth identified as Anne DiPrizio, interrupts the hearing to speak about drinking water quality in Alabama. She went on to say that she had previously been a researcher at the UAB School of Public Health and had studied vulnerable populations.

Hedgepeth reported the woman interrupted the meeting after South testified in opposition to a proposal by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that would deny Alabama Power the authority to keep toxic coal ash in unlined ponds that are in the vicinity of Alabama waterways.

South, a former Republican state representative from Fayette whose district depends heavily on mining jobs, has been a longtime proponent for policy related to the coal industry in order to foster economic growth in his part of the state.

Still, halfway through the video, DiPrizio turns and begins to empty a bottle of water on South's head and shoulders while continuing to talk. South sat quietly during the incident, apart from a surprised "wow."

"Everybody knows that this is a spectacle," she said, looking at South. "Right? You created a spectacle. Y'all might say 'that's crazy, that's a crazy unhinged lady.' Yeah, I might be at this point. Because, at this point, we've tried every reasonable ..."

It's at this point that the woman stops her comments, turns to South with a smile and mocks him, saying "you're just sitting there ..."

South responded to the comments with a nod and said nothing.

South told Patch that he felt his comments were so mundane during the hearing that he believes he was used as a prop due to being the closest person to the woman when she interrupted the hearing.

When asked if the woman was escorted out, South said there was no security in place at the Embassy Suites in downtown Montgomery and she was not asked to leave. Instead, South said she was still in attendance after he left when the hearing took a break for lunch.

Hedgepeth reported later Wednesday afternoon that EPA officials did try to interrupt DiPrizio and did eventually clear the room, before saying that DiPrizio was no longer in attendance when the session reconvened later in the day,

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