EPA Closes Coal Ash Loopholes, Protecting Communities and Groundwater from Toxic Waste

ATLANTA — Today, the EPA finalized a rule to protect the public from millions of tons of toxic coal ash sitting in old landfills and ponds across the country that were previously exempt from federal regulations.

The updates to federal standards for coal ash, known as the Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) Rule, will regulate coal ash disposed of in old landfills and other fill areas at power plants, not just ash in “active” landfills. For the first time, the rule will also regulate the many coal ash ponds located at retired power plants, called legacy ponds. There are 19 legacy coal ash ponds and landfills in Georgia that were previously exempt from federal regulations but are now expected to have to comply with the CCR rule.

Coal ash is a mix of hazardous pollutants, metals, carcinogens, and neurotoxins left behind when power companies burn coal for energy. Utilities often dispose of coal ash by dumping it in unlined ponds, landfills, and mines where toxic pollution such as mercury, lead, and arsenic can leak into groundwater. The pollutants found in coal ash are linked to health conditions like cancer, heart and thyroid disease, reproductive failure, and can inflict permanent brain damage on children.

When EPA issued its first coal ash regulations in 2015 to address this pollution, the CCR Rule included two dangerous loopholes that allowed coal ash ponds at retired power plants, known as legacy impoundments, and “inactive” coal ash landfills, where ash hadn’t been dumped since 2015, to go without critical monitoring and cleanup requirements and to continue to leak toxic pollution into groundwater and surface water.

On behalf of the Sierra Club and other environmental, civil rights, and community groups, Earthjustice sued the EPA twice challenging this loophole, and today’s final rule is a result of that litigation.

The new coal ash rule was announced in tandem with three other regulations designed to reduce dangerous pollution from power plants: limits on carbon emissions from coal and new gas plants, wastewater treatment requirements for coal plants, and tougher standards for air emissions of mercury and other toxic air pollutants at coal and oil-fired power plants.

In response to the news, Sierra Club Georgia Chapter Director G Webber released the following statement:

"Georgia is home to more than 90 million tons of toxic coal ash. This is a huge win for Georgia communities who have been dealing with coal ash pollution for decades. For far too long, many of the sites where this toxic material is stored have been allowed to skirt important regulations that protect our families and communities from the serious health risks posed by this legacy pollution. Closing this loophole is common sense: It doesn’t matter when this toxic material was dumped, it remains dangerous and should be treated as such. Together with the other new power plant pollution regulations announced today, this new coal ash rule represents a major step forward in our work to protect Georgia communities, decarbonize the electric sector, and avoid the worst impacts of climate change. We’re grateful to President Biden and EPA Administrator Regan for moving forward with these important new rules that will protect Georgians’ health."