September 1, 2010

Coal Ash Regulation: Playing the Name Game

By Angela Neville, JD

What’s in a name? Would coal ash labeled as “special” hazardous waste be as easily recycled as that labeled nonhazardous waste?

That is the crux of the debate sparked by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) consideration related to changing coal combustion residuals’ current status as a nonhazardous waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act’s (RCRA) Subtitle D. Existing coal ash regulations are now undergoing close scrutiny in the wake of the massive disaster involving the accidental release of billions of gallons of wet coal ash at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston, Tenn., plant in December 2008.

Prompted by safety and environmental concerns, on May 4 the EPA issued a two-option proposal: Either regulate coal ash as a nonhazardous waste under Subtitle D with additional tougher management and disposal regulations or regulate these materials as a “special” hazardous waste under RCRA’s Subtitle C, but allow it to still be eligible for recycling and reuse in products such as Portland cement. Public comments concerning the EPA’s proposed rule are being accepted until September 20.

“We have heard some people complain that if you call it hazardous waste, that will stop people from recycling it; we’ve never seen that to be the case,” said EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, responding to questions about industry’s reaction to the proposed rule change. “However, with a nod toward those concerns, the EPA has said, ‘let’s call it a special waste.’”