WASHINGTON The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday proposed to make it easier for power companies to dispose of the toxic residues from burning coal, building on other steps the agency has already taken to rewrite Obama-era rules for coal ash pollution.
The EPA’s actions would unwind some of the requirements for treating toxic wastewater and ash that coal power plants discharge that were set in that 2015 rule, which implemented the first federal limits on the levels of toxic metals that can be discharged in wastewater from power plants, and required companies to use updated technology to prevent such pollution.
Separately, the EPA is working on broader regulations to address other parts of the Obama administration rule.
The EPA at the time estimated the 2015 rule would “reduce the amount of toxic metals, nutrients, and other pollutants that steam electric power plants are allowed to discharge by 1.4 billion pounds and reduce water withdrawal by 57 billion gallons.”
However power companies that burn coal, such as AES Corp. of Arlington, Va., and utility trade associations like Utility Solid Waste Activities Group, which represents several power companies, have said the rules were too stringent and raised their operational costs.
The EPA said on Monday the proposed revisions would save coal-burning industries more than $175 million a year.
The agency said it’s making “several planned revisions to provide a clear and stable regulatory framework for coal ash management and disposal” and address issues raised in “litigation, legislation, petitions for reconsideration, and rule implementation.”
The changes, the EPA said, would provide “regulatory clarity and flexibility” for companies, but environmental advocates instead accused the administration of putting industry profits ahead of public health.
Coal ash is known to contain several heavy metals and other toxins including arsenic, mercury and cadmium that have been linked to a myriad of health problems. Some of it is stored in dry form or as wet slurry in ponds. It can also be used as a substitute for soil or as fill material in construction.
“It is outrageous that Trump’s team is so beholden to polluters that they are willing to let power plants continue to dump lead, mercury, chromium and other dangerous chemicals into our water supply to preserve every last cent of their profits,” said Thom Cmar, deputy managing attorney of Earthjustice’s Coal Program.
The EPA has proposed separate rules to lift limitations placed by the Obama administration on the amount of coal ash that can be used in certain types of construction. The agency also proposed delaying deadlines for the closure of some unlined coal ash ponds that the Obama administration had asked companies to shut down because they didn’t meet the agency’s safety standards.
