On January 11, 2022, the EPA announced coal-fired power plants will be required to clean up their coal-ash waste ponds as the Agency begins enforcing regulations to remove decades of coal combustion residue (CCR).
Facilities impacted by this announcement are located in New York, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Iowa, and Kentucky, reports CNN.
CCR is a byproduct of burning coal, and it contains arsenic, mercury, and cadmium—contaminants that are often released into the air, groundwater, drinking water, and waterways. It is typically stored in ponds.
The EPA says these actions are necessary “to protect communities and hold facilities accountable for controlling and cleaning up the contamination created by decades of coal ash disposal,” as well as are expected to “advance the agency’s commitment to protecting groundwater from coal ash contamination and include:
- proposing decisions on requests for extensions to the current deadline for initiating closure of unlined CCR surface impoundments;
- putting several facilities on notice regarding their obligations to comply with CCR regulations and
- laying out plans for future regulatory actions to ensure coal ash impoundments meet strong environmental and safety standards. EPA is committed to working with states to ensure robust protections for communities.”
“I’ve seen firsthand how coal ash contamination can hurt people and communities. Coal ash surface impoundments and landfills must operate and close in a manner that protects public health and the environment,” says EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “For too long, communities already disproportionately impacted by high levels of pollution have been burdened by improper coal ash disposal. [These] actions will help us protect communities and hold facilities accountable. We look forward to working with our state partners to reverse damage that has already occurred. EPA will support communities with stakeholder engagement, technical assistance, compliance assistance, and enforcement.”
“New York State applauds the Biden administration and U.S. EPA Administrator Michael Regan for acting to protect communities nationwide from the dangers posed by coal ash disposal. [These] efforts … will help safeguard our communities and natural resources and send a clear message—regulators are rigorously monitoring coal ash facilities and ready to hold violators accountable,” says New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos. “DEC is committed to partnering with EPA to protect our communities from the reckless practices of our country’s lingering coal legacy and today’s announcement is a critical milestone in these efforts.”
“As the transition from coal advances, it is also critical that we responsibly manage the legacy wastes that have been left from our historical reliance on coal,” says Liesl Clark, Director of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE). “Michigan is advancing efforts to reach our state’s goal of a carbon-neutral economy by 2050. We support EPA’s ongoing efforts to provide clarity around the coal combustion residuals rules and to ensure that our world-class freshwater resources and the drinking water they provide are not impacted by these legacy wastes.”
Background
CCRs are one of the largest types of industrial wastes produced in the United States, according to the EPA. The Agency promulgated a comprehensive set of requirements for the management of coal ash in landfills and impoundments addressing the risks from coal-ash disposal in April 2015. One of those requirements was the installation of linings in coal-ash ponds.
There are currently about 500 coal-ash ponds in the United States that are not lined.
“EPA’s regulations required most of the approximately 500 unlined coal ash surface impoundments nationwide to stop receiving waste and begin closure by April 2021. The regulations outlined a process for facilities to apply for two types of extensions to the closure deadline.
“To date, the EPA received and reviewed 57 applications from CCR facilities requesting deadline extensions. It determined 52 were complete, four were incomplete, and one is ineligible for an extension. Of the 52 complete applications received, EPA conducted technical analyses and is proposing determinations on four applications.
“EPA is proposing denying three requests for deadline extensions after identifying several potential deficiencies with groundwater monitoring, cleanup, and closure activities, including a lack of monitoring wells, improper monitoring techniques, faulty identification of other sources of groundwater contamination, and insufficient evaluations of clean-up technologies, which could prevent adequate groundwater cleanup,” according to the EPA news release. “EPA is proposing a conditional approval for one request, which would require the facility to fix groundwater monitoring issues.
“In addition, the proposed determinations re-state EPA’s consistently held position that surface impoundments or landfills cannot be closed with coal ash in contact with groundwater. Limiting the contact between coal ash and groundwater after closure is critical to minimizing releases of contaminants into the environment and will help ensure communities near these facilities have access to safe water for drinking and recreation.”
Public comment on the proposed determinations will be accepted through Regulations.gov beginning January 25, 2022, and ending February 23, 2022. Separate dockets will be established for each proposed determination.
The EPA also announced it plans to send letters to coal-ash plants with issues such as incomplete cleanup information, improper groundwater monitoring, and the regulation of inactive surface impoundments.
“EPA is also ensuring facilities comply with the current CCR regulations by working with state partners to investigate compliance concerns at coal ash facilities across the country,” the EPA news release continues. “EPA will work in collaboration with states on facility compliance to protect public health and the environment. The agency will focus on compliance at facilities that intend to close surface impoundments with coal ash in contact with groundwater, and facilities with surface impoundments that warrant further groundwater investigation, including facilities that have used an alternate source demonstration, which is when a facility identifies another possible source of contamination. Closure with coal ash in contact with groundwater puts the health and safety of nearby communities at risk.”
Regulations
The Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals from Electric Utilities final rule was published in the Federal Register on April 17, 2015. It established technical requirements for CCR landfills and surface impoundments under subtitle D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). “These regulations address the risks from coal ash disposal — leaking of contaminants into ground water, blowing of contaminants into the air as dust, and the catastrophic failure of coal ash surface impoundments,” according to the EPA Coal Ash Rule website. “Additionally, the rule sets out recordkeeping and reporting requirements as well as the requirement for each facility to establish and post specific information to a publicly-accessible website. This final rule also supports the responsible recycling of CCRs by distinguishing safe, beneficial use from disposal.”
The extension of the compliance deadlines occurred in August 2016 in response to a partial vacatur ordered by the U.S. D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Phase One, Part One of amendments to the CCR disposal regulations were finalized in 2018. Those revisions:
- Provided states with approved CCR permit programs or, where the EPA is the permitting authority, the ability to use alternate performance standards;
- Revised the groundwater protection standard for constituents that do not have an established drinking water standard (known as a maximum contaminant level (MCL));
- Provided facilities that are triggered into closure by the regulations with additional time to cease receiving waste and initiate closure; and
- Finalized two alternative performance standards:
- The first one allows a state director (in a state with an approved coal-ash permit program) or the EPA (where the EPA is the permitting authority) to suspend groundwater monitoring requirements if there is evidence that there is no potential for migration of hazardous constituents to the uppermost aquifer during the active life of the unit and post-closure care.
- The second allows issuance of technical certifications in lieu of a professional engineer.
In 2020, the EPA finalized several revisions to both Part A and Part B of its “Final Rule—A Holistic Approach to Closure,” which included:
- Changes to allow unlined surface impoundments to continue receiving coal ash unless they leak and that classify “clay-lined” surface impoundments as lined;
- The establishment of a revised date by which unlined surface impoundments and units that failed the aquifer location restriction must cease receiving waste and initiate closure or retrofit;
- Revisions to the alternative closure provisions that would grant certain facilities additional time to develop alternative capacity to manage their wastestreams before they must stop receiving waste and initiate closure of their surface impoundments;
- Amendments to the annual groundwater monitoring and corrective action report; and
- Allowing a limited number of facilities to demonstrate that, based on groundwater data and the design of a particular surface impoundment, the unit has ensured and will continue to ensure there is no reasonable probability of adverse effects to human health and the environment, meaning these CCR surface impoundments should be allowed to continue operations.
“Moving forward, EPA will improve the current rules by finalizing a federal permitting program for the disposal of coal ash and establishing regulations for legacy coal ash surface impoundments. EPA will also continue its review of state-level CCR program applications to ensure they are as protective as federal regulations.”