North Dakota Secures EPA Approval to Manage Coal Ash Program

The EPA announced Wednesday it has ceded to North Dakota control over how the state manages potentially toxic coal ash.

The approval, which had been expected, marks the Trump administration’s latest move to hand formerly federally-run programs down to the states. Many states have said they need more flexibility to prop up the struggling coal sector—a goal President Donald Trump shares.

Critics have long said the cooperative federalism model doesn’t work in environmental law because pollution doesn’t recognize state boundaries, meaning a strong, central overseer is needed. They ...