Date: March 23, 2009
Source: News Room
Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) and some environmentalists are calling on the US EPA to expand the scope of regulating coal combustion waste (CCW) out of fear that the agency too focused on utilities' coal ash surface impoundments and not other disposal sites. On March 9, the EPA launched a study of the estimated 300 surface impoundments, where the ash is mixed with water and left to settle in a pond, to learn more about other mishaps possibly similar to one that occurred at a TVA site in Tennessee. Sen. Cardin is concerned about an incident earlier this month in which a leaking pipe from a paper producer discharged approximately 4,000 gallons of coal ash slurry into the Potomac River near Luke, MD. He fears that the EPA's focus on the 95% of coal ash produced by utilities will overlook paper mills, grain processors and other companies that also use coal for energy. Similarly, the Natural Resource Defense Council in a recent position paper said that it intends to "make sure the administrationgathers all necessary data and fully addresses all forms of coal waste that pose environmental or health threats." Many believe that regulations will ultimately look similar to [RCRA Part] 258 municipal solid waste standards and include design standards, landfill liners, groundwater monitoring and other provisions similar to those for MSW.
###
SENATOR CARDIN SPONSORS RESOLUTION TO REGULATE COAL ASH
Allegany County Experiences Recent Coal Ash Spill
U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD) has co-sponsored a U.S. Senate Resolution (S.Res. 64) calling for stricter standards and oversight to help prevent coal ash spills and improve the management and proper disposal of coal combustion ash.
On March 9, the New Page Corp. reported that a leaking pipe discharged approximately 4,000 gallons of coal ash slurry into the North Branch Potomac River near Luke, Md. In December, approximately 1 billion gallons of coal ash sludge spilled from the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston Fossil Plant contaminating the Emory River and covering nearly 300 acres with grayish muck. In 2007, Constellation Energy and the owner of a local dumpsite were ordered to pay a $1 million penalty and clean up groundwater contaminated by a coal ash landfill in Anne Arundel County.
Senator Cardin, a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, sees a need for much stricter standards to prevent future environmental disasters. "The Tennessee tragedy and the recent Maryland spill are wake up calls that we need stricter regulation and oversight of coal combustion by-products. A coal ash spill can take decades to remediate and we need to take strong steps to avoid such tragedies."
The Senate resolution does the following:
Calls on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to conduct immediate reviews and inspections of all coal ash impoundments in the United States;
Calls on EPA to propose and issue as quickly as possible rules to regulate coal combustion waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act; and,
Calls on the Tennessee Valley Authority to "meet the intentions of Congress and be ‘a national leader in technological innovation, low-cost power, and environmental stewardship.'"
Contact: Susan Sullam: 410-962-4436
Sign up to receive our free Weekly News Bulletin