EPA Finalizes Coal Ash Cleanup Rule for Plants’ Legacy Landfills

The EPA finalized a rule to mandate coal ash cleanup at inactive power plants, part of a group of related rules announced Thursday by the administration.

The rule seeks to close a loophole created when the Environmental Protection Agency issued a coal ash cleanup rule in 2015. That rule set criteria for existing and new coal ash landfills, but didn’t address inactive facilities.

Coal ash is the residue from coal burnt to generate power. The ash is typically stored in specially-built landfills.

The EPA has said inactive coal ash landfills are especially worrisome because they’re ...