EPA Postpones Decision On Regulating Coal Ash For Three Months

[hatrack]

WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday proposed the nation's first federal rules for the disposal of contaminant-laden ash from coal-fired power plants, but delayed a decision for at least three months on whether coal ash should be regulated as a hazardous substance. The ash contains the contaminated remains of coal, including mercury, arsenic, cadmium and other substances that can cause cancer and other illnesses. The EPA's testing has shown that without protections, these contaminants can find their way into drinking water supplies.

Only if the EPA declares coal ash is hazardous will it be able to enforce tougher rules nationwide. The other option would let EPA set standards, but the federal agency wouldn't have oversight or enforcement power. States or individuals would have to file lawsuits to try to get waste disposal site managers to comply. The EPA will decide after a 90-day comment period.

Coal ash from power plants is held in wet form in lagoons and sent to landfills and other sites, including old mines and quarries, at about 900 places around the country, in almost every state. In some lagoons at power plants, the ash has been building up for decades. Depending on the approach EPA ultimately adopts, the proposed rules would phase-out coal ash lagoons and toughen protections at landfills.

The EPA has talked about setting standards for coal ash disposal on and off since the 1980s, but has never done it until now. In many states, coal ash is handled no differently than common garbage is. The EPA has observed sites where the waste is leaching into the water.

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20100504/sc_mcclatchy/3495693