Coal Ash Proposed Rule - RCRA Subtitle C Subtitle D

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing rules to ensure the safe disposal and management of coal ash from coal-fired power plants. Agency rules are intended to ensure that protective controls, such as liners and groundwater monitoring, are in place at new landfills to protect groundwater and human health. Existing surface impoundments will also require liners, with incentives to close the impoundments and transition to safer landfills, which store coal ash in dry form. The proposed regulations also are intended to promote recycling and beneficial uses of coal ash.

The proposal describes two approaches for addressing the risks of coal ash management under the nation's primary law for regulating solid waste, the Resource Recovery and Conservation Act (RCRA). One option is drawn from authorities available under Subtitle C, which creates a comprehensive program of federally enforceable requirements for waste management and disposal. The other option includes remedies under Subtitle D, which gives EPA authority to set performance standards for waste management facilities and would be enforced primarily through citizen suits.

Under both approaches proposed by EPA, the agency would leave in place the Bevill exemption for beneficial uses of coal ash in which coal combustion residuals are recycled as components of products instead of placed in impoundments or landfills.

EPA is seeking public comment on the continued exemption of beneficial uses from regulation and on whether that exemption should exclude certain non-contained applications where contaminants in coal ash could pose risks to human health. The public comment period is 90 days from the date the rule is published in the Federal Register.

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