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DAILY ! ENVIRONMENT REPORT Reproduced with permission from Daily Environment Report, DEN 2-25-20, 02/25/2010. Copyright 姝 2010 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (800-372-1033) http://www.bna.com
Solid Waste
Advocates Press White House to Release Rule On Coal Ash, Saying Waste Sites Pose Hazard nvironmental advocates pressed the White House Feb. 24 to release a proposed rule that would regulate handling and disposal of coal ash from coalfired power plants, saying hundreds of sites beyond those identified by the Environmental Protection Agency could pose hazards. The Environmental Integrity Project and Earthjustice released a joint report that they said documents 31 coal ash sites in 14 states where groundwater or waterways are contaminated. These are in addition to 70 sites already documented by EPA as justification for conducting the rulemaking on regulation of coal ash. The report, Out of Control: Mounting Damages from Coal Ash Waste Sites, said the 31 sites documented represent ‘‘the tip of the iceberg.’’ In a telephone news conference, attorneys from the Environmental Integrity Project and Earthjustice said data in the report should ‘‘significantly increase the pressure on [the White House Office of Management and Budget] to release the delayed EPA rule.’’ The report called it ‘‘incredible’’ that ash and other coal-combustion wastes are not yet subject to federal regulations. It said the draft rule is ‘‘stalled at the Office of Management and Budget, where an avalanche of lobbyists hope it will stay buried.’’ OMB has been reviewing the draft rule since EPA submitted it for review in October, although EPA had expected to propose a final rule by the end of 2009. OMB extended its 90-day review period for an additional 30 days, meaning the rule would have been released Feb. 16 (31 DEN A-5, 2/18/10). As of Feb. 24, the rule ‘‘continues to be under review,’’ OMB spokesman Kenneth Baer told BNA in an e-mail. ‘‘All parties are working hard to resolve the remaining issues,’’ he said.
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At issue is whether coal ash should be defined as a hazardous waste under Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, according to Earthjustice. For the most part, environmental advocates say it should be, and utilities that operate coal-fired power plants and others that recycle the substance for use in highway construction and other applications contend otherwise. Details of the draft proposal under review at OMB have not been released. OMB convened 33 meetings with EPA officials and interested parties between Oct. 16, 2009, and Feb. 16, 2010, according to OMB’s website. The majority of the meetings have been with industry representatives, although environmental groups also have attended some meetings. Earthjustice and the Environmental Integrity Project have met several times with OMB and EPA officials on the matter (8 DEN A-7, 1/14/10).
Pollution Called Preventable. EPA ‘‘has the authority and the responsibility to establish minimum federal standards to require safeguards at coal ash dumps,’’ Lisa Evans, senior administrative counsel for Earthjustice, said during the news conference. Evans questioned why are there no federal regulations in place for coal ash impoundments or ponds when there are ‘‘very basic measures routinely required at all dumps for household trash.’’ She also questioned why OMB is delaying the rule when ‘‘there is no technological fix required and shovel-ready solutions are available.’’ Evans said federal regulation might call for: s liners to keep coal ash from contacting water, s leachate collection systems to capture heavy metals released from the ash, s monitoring wells to detect contaminants that move through groundwater, and s corrective action requirements to ensure that polluters take timely action when contamination occurs. At all the sites described in the new report, one or more of these safeguards was absent, Evans said. ‘‘The law simply did not require it.’’ ISSN 1060-2976
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TVA Plant One of Many. The December 2008 coal-ash spill from Tennessee Valley Authority’s power plant in Kingston, Tenn., has become ‘‘the poster child for damage that coal ash can wreak,’’ but there are hundreds of others where toxic substances are being released, said Jeff Stant, director of the Coal Combustion Waste Initiative at the Environmental Integrity Project. Stant said the problem ‘‘needs an immediate national solution’’ in the form of enforceable federal standards that protect human and aquatic life near coal ash dump sites.
s contamination at at least 26 sites exceeds one or more primary drinking water standard; s arsenic has been found at 19 sites at extremely high levels—nearly 150 times the federal water standard at one site; s levels of toxic metals at some sites were as much as 1,450 times federally permissible levels, s 25 out of the 31 sites are still active disposal sites. The 31 sites are located in Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia.
Migration Found at 15 Sites. Among other things, the
BY JANICE VALVERDE
report said that: s contamination has migrated off the power plant property at 15 sites at levels exceeding drinking water or surface water standards;
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Out of Control: Mounting Damages from Coal Ash Waste Sites is available at http:// www.environmentalintegrity.org/pdf/newsreports/ Out%20of%20Control%20FINAL%20234am.pdf.
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