The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
EPA PLANS TO RELAX RULES ON COAL WASTE LIMITS TODAY
The Environmental Protection Agency today plans to relax rules that govern how power plants store waste from burning coal and release water containing toxic metals into nearby waterways, according to agency officials.
Why it matters
The proposals, which scale back two rules adopted in 2015, affect the disposal of fine powder and sludge known as “coal ash,” as well as contaminated water that power plants produce while burning coal. Both forms of waste can contain mercury, arsenic and other heavy metals that pose risks to human health and the environment. Using monitoring data disclosed for the first time under the 2015 rule, a report published jointly earlier this year by the Environmental Integrity Project and Earthjustice found 91% of the nation’s coal-fired power plants reported elevated levels of pollutants in nearby groundwater.
How will rules change?
The new rules would allow extensions that could keep unlined coal ash waste ponds open for as long as eight additional years. Trump administration officials revised the standards in response to recent court rulings, as well as to petitions from companies that said they could not afford to meet stringent requirements enacted under the Obama administration. They also reflect President Trump’s broader goal of bolstering the U.S. coal industry.
Under the Obama-era rule, coal ash ponds leaking contaminants into groundwater that exceeded federal protection standards had to close by April 2019. The Trump administration extended that deadline to October 2020 in a rule it finalized last year. Under the new proposal, companies will have to stop placing coal ash into unlined storage ponds near waterways by Aug. 31, 2020, and either retrofit these sites to make them more secure or begin to close them. The EPA will allow greater leeway and more time for operators to request extensions. Moreover, if a company can demonstrate that it is shutting down a coal boiler, it can petition to keep its storage ponds open for as long as eight years.
The EPA today will also revise requirements for how power plants discharge wastewater. Under the Obama administration, EPA staff concluded it was feasible to prohibit any releases of toxic materials by having the units continually recycle their water. The agency has now concluded this is far more costly than originally anticipated. Under the new rule, plants would be allowed to discharge 10% of their water each day, on a 30-day rolling average.
Reactions to revisions
In a statement, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said the Obama-era rules “placed heavy burdens on electricity producers across the country.”
“These proposed revisions support the Trump administration’s commitment to responsible, reasonable regulations,” Wheeler said, “by taking a common-sense approach that will provide more certainty to U.S. industry while also protecting public health and the environment.”
Environmentalists have sharply criticized the proposals, arguing these containment sites pose serious risks to the public at a time when more frequent and intense flooding could destabilize them and contaminate drinking water supplies that serve millions of people.
During the past decade, Tennessee and North Carolina experienced major coal ash spills that destroyed homes and contaminated rivers, resulting in sickened cleanup workers and massive lawsuits. Coal waste can poison wildlife and poses health risks to people living near storage sites.
What rules stay?
The EPA’s proposals will retain several of the monitoring and public disclosure standards put in place in 2015, officials said, requiring companies to monitor groundwater, publicly report the data and address any leaks that pollute waterways. The “vast majority” of slurry ponds “are on the road to closure” under the new rule, an EPA official said.