EPA Holds Hearing on Proposed Changes to Coal Ash Regulations

Environmental advocates opposed proposed EPA regulations at a virtual public comment hearing on Thursday. The rules would weaken requirements for cleaning up toxic coal ash residue at hundreds of coal-burning sites across the country. Lisa Evans, senior counsel at Earthjustice and a former EPA attorney, said in a statement that the Trump administration had jeopardized the nation’s drinking water supplies as a favor to polluters.

“It’s just not right,” she said. The Trump administration announced in April that it would repeal a 2024 rule requiring utilities to monitor coal ash sites at inactive coal plants. The Trump EPA also said it would loosen requirements for protecting groundwater near those sites.

The administration wants to rely on states for coal ash monitoring and enforcement and enable them to bypass national standards in some cases. The proposed rule would exempt sites where coal ash is stored from regulation and permit coal-fired power plant owners to minimize, delay, or avoid dealing with the coal ash at their facilities.

” Coal ash, or coal combustion residuals, is the mineral residue left after burning coal to generate electricity.

It contains potentially toxic levels of substances like mercury, arsenic, and lead, all of which are associated with human health problems, including cancer. More than half of the fine, gray, powdery residue is used each year to create concrete, drywall, or other industry applications.

A 2022 study by Earthjustice and other environmental groups found that more than 90 percent of coal power plants across America were contaminating groundwater via coal ash residues.