EPA Releases List of 584 Coal Ash Ponds; Fuels Debate on Regulation

Date: September 4, 2009

Source: News Room

The EPA has released its recently completed list showing that there are 584 coal ash ponds operating in 35 states, leading environmentalists to argue that these ponds, which power plants use to dispose of spent coal ash, are more widespread and less safe than previously thought and should be regulated under strict hazardous waste management rules. EPA released the survey results following a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from a coalition of environmentalists. It documents existing problems at such sites as well as dozens of events in the past involving leaks or discharges of waste ranging from several hundred gallons to several million. The results come from self-reported information gathered from coal-fired electricity utilities as requested by the EPA following pressure from Congress after a catastrophic ash pond failure on Dec. 22, 2008, which released more than a billion gallons of the waste over 300 acres and into two rivers. EPA has said it intends to issue a rulemaking on coal ash by the end of the calendar year, though it has not indicated whether it will regulate the ash as a hazardous or solid waste.

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