On June 21, 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed federal rules for the management of coal ash and other coal combustion residuals (“CCRs”) produced by coal-based power plants across the country. EPA included a range of regulatory options in its proposal and accepted public comments on the rule through November 19, 2010.

The electric utility industry and a majority of other stakeholders—including Governors, state regulatory agencies, state and local policymakers, and labor unions—support EPA’s option of regulating coal ash and other CCRs as non-hazardous waste under Subtitle D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). And following decades of study, EPA concluded in 2000 that “Subtitle D regulations are the most appropriate mechanism for ensuring that these wastes disposed in landfills and surface impoundments are managed safely.”

Non-hazardous waste regulation will ensure that coal ash is managed safely, while also protecting human health and the environment, jobs, and electricity consumers. EPA’s other option—to regulate coal ash as a hazardous waste under RCRA Subtitle C—would impose staggering costs on power plant operations, causing electricity costs to increase and threatening electric reliability.

Regulating coal ash right—as non-hazardous waste—also will ensure the continued beneficial use of coal combustion byproducts, which today are used in a variety of applications including sustainable construction practices. In fact, coal ash has been used for more than 80 years as a substitute for cement in concrete.