States Ask EPA to Craft Guidance on Coal Ash Disposal and Reuse Risks

Date: October 26, 2012

Source: News Room

At a recent meeting in Washington DC, state waste officials began asking EPA to craft guidance on how to determine whether coal ash is safe for landfill disposal or beneficial reuse. Attendees at the Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials' (ASTSWMO) annual meeting said they see inconsistencies among the states about how to determine the environmental risks of coal ash, particularly with unencapsulated disposal, such as using it as fill in mines or disposing it in landfills.

EPA has proposed to regulate disposal of ash as either hazardous waste or solid waste, but recently said it will need a least a year to review and take comment on recent data and unresolved concerns over the rulemaking. As part of the RCRA rule development, EPA is also working on a risk assessment for the beneficial uses of coal ash to assess the risks of reusing the ash in products.

See also: "EPA Not Likely to Issue Coal Ash Rule Until 2014," (www.wasteinfo.com/news/wbj20121024B.htm), October 19, 2012.

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