Environmental, Industry Groups Clash Over Enforceability of Coal-Ash Proposal

Environmental groups said they believe a decision by the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate coal-combustion byproducts as a nonhazardous waste would lead to a situation in which there would be little ability to ensure that coal-fired power plants are taking necessary steps to protect human health and the environment.

At a June 17 panel discussion on the proposed rules sponsored by the Environmental Law Institute, a representative of the Environmental Integrity Project argued that the ash should be regulated as a hazardous waste under a “special waste” category of Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act to allow ...