Ash Blog

Monday is Earth Day – and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency delivered a gift to coal ash recyclers just in time: On Friday, the Agency sent a clear signal that it is moving away from its earlier proposal to regulate coal ash as a “hazardous waste.” The announcement showed up on page 52 of a related rulemaking proposal that was released on April 19. After announcing that the Agency intends to “align” proposed new Clean Water Act regulations for coal ash disposal with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act coal ash rulemaking that began in 2010, EPA said this: “Although a...

It’s been more than four years since the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced it would develop new regulations for coal ash disposal. The uncertainty EPA created when it said one regulatory option could involve a “hazardous waste” designation for coal ash has brought the growth in ash recycling to a screeching halt. Despite the damage being done to recycling and the environment, EPA still has no schedule for completing its new rules. Recycling rates in the United States in 2011 remained below 2008 levels for the third consecutive year – stalled after nearly a decade of grow...

November 15 is “America Recycles Day.” So what better time to review the positive environmental contributions that come from using coal ash instead of throwing it away? There are many good reasons to view coal ash as a resource, rather than a waste. Recycling it conserves natural resources and saves energy. In some cases, products made with coal ash perform better than products made without it. For instance, coal ash makes concrete stronger and more durable. It also reduces the need to manufacture cement, resulting in significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. In the deca...

If there was ever any doubt that Congress should act now to create coal ash disposal regulations, a recent court filing spells out the truth: Four years after the highly publicized failure of a disposal impoundment, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is nowhere near completing regulations it initially promised within a year. The consequences for coal ash recycling are severe. The regulatory uncertainty created by EPA’s ongoing threat of an unwarranted “hazardous waste” designation for disposed coal ash is already harming recycling. It now appears that only Congress is in a posi...

Anti-coal environmental groups love to rave about “toxin-laden” coal ash, but have you noticed they never explain what that means? That’s because the “toxins” in coal ash are the same ones in your backyard soil – and in similar concentrations. The American Coal Ash Association recently published a new report analyzing the most up-to-date U.S. Government information available about the constituents of coal ash. The report concludes that the concentrations of metals in coal ash, with few exceptions, are below environmental screening levels for residential soils and are similar in conc...

As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s effort to establish coal ash disposal regulations nears the end of its fourth year with no conclusion in sight, U.S. Senators are acting to create meaningful regulations that can take effect now while simultaneously protecting coal ash recycling. S 3512 – the ‘‘Coal Ash Recycling and Oversight Act of 2012’’ – was filed August 2, 2012. The bill would establish the first ever national regulatory standards for coal ash disposal. The new legislation is based on the regulatory structure approved by the U.S. House of Representatives and...