EPA proposes improved regulations for coal ash

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency unveiled two options today to regulate waste from coal-burning power plants in order to better protect public health and drinking water sources. The two competing alternatives would provide varying levels of protection to the state water resources, and could take years to implement.

"The time has come for common-sense national protections to ensure the safe disposal of coal ash," said EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. "We're proposing strong steps to address the serious risk of groundwater contamination and threats to drinking water and we're also putting in place stronger safeguards against structural failures of coal ash impoundments. The health and the environment of all communities must be protected."

Coal ash, also known as coal combustion waste and coal combustion residue, contains toxic chemicals and heavy metals such as arsenic and lead – pollutants that cause cancer, birth defects, reproductive problems, damage to the nervous system and kidneys, and learning disabilities in children. Kentucky coal-burning plants generate a total of 8.5 million tons of this waste every year, housed at 44 impoundments across the state. Of these impoundments, 7 have been labeled as imminent threats to human health and safety by the EPA. To learn more about it, click here.

One proposal option, the "Subtitle C" option, would designate coal ash as a hazardous waste. This type of waste already has a national regulation and permitting system in place under the federal "Resources Conservation and Recovery Act" (RCRA). Coal-burning power plants and state enforcement agencies would be expected to take steps over the next 5 years to ensure that existing and new impoundments meet these stricter guidelines. A plethora of scientific research has shown that coal ash meets the federal definition of "hazardous" and is also leaching into groundwater and drinking water sources near storage sites.

Under option 2, or non-hazardous regulation, the EPA would require wet coal ash impoundments to be retrofitted with a composite liner, rather than being phased out. If the disposal site chooses not to comply, the regulation would prohibit receiving additional coal ash, and require the closure of the unit within five years. The closure process and post-closure groundwater monitoring would be self-implemented, with no federal or state oversight. The EPA notes that this option would be much more difficult to monitor and enforce.

Both designations would leave in place the rule allowing coal ash to be recycled in so-called "beneficial uses" such as drywall, concrete and other construction materials. Many of these uses are virtually untested for their health effects or have little benefit in application. For example, at the proposed Smith plant, which would generate 520,000 tons of the waste annually, its coal ash would be buried with structural fill, which the company describes as a "beneficial re-use." Both options would also prohibit coal ash disposal in unlined landfills, although disposal in old mining sites would still be allowed.

Jefferson County chapter member Beth Bissmeyer supports the first option. "It's outrageous that storage and disposal of a substance that contains known cancer-causing pollutants has gone unregulated for so long. I live within five miles of the Cane Run Road coal-burning power plant and coal ash landfill and roughly 10 miles from the Mill Creek power station that also stores coal ash. The more I learn about the dangers of coal ash and its harmful effects on the health of people and the environment, the more sickened I become, knowing that the safety and health of my community is being neglected. Seeing the EPA finally take some steps toward coal ash regulation is great, but I hope they go far enough and declare coal ash a "hazardous waste." To do any less would be unjust and unreasonable."

The announcement comes after the EPA failed to meet self-imposed deadlines in the past concerning the designation of coal ash as a hazardous substance. The proposals will be turned over to the public for a 90-day comment period and one or more public and stakeholder hearings, after which the EPA will announce a decision.

"I would want communities to know that I believe, that EPA believes, it is very important to get on with this regulatory process," said Jackson. "There has been lots of discussion already. We’ve heard from elected officials, from members of congress, from state governments, from private industries. I’d like to hear from public citizens about what they think is the most effective rule."


In December of 2008, one billion gallons of toxic coal ash burst through a dam near a Tennessee Valley Authority power plant in Kingston, Tenn., polluting the Clinch and Emory rivers and launching the safety of coal ash into the national environmental debate.

The public can make comments on the proposed coal ash regulations until the end of the year once the final rule is posted (check in the next couple of weeks). Make comments by typing in EPA–HQ–RCRA–2009–0640 in the search box at www.regulations.gov.

(Parts of this blog entry are copied from Appalachian Voices)

Locations of coal ash impoundments in Kentucky: