Proposal Would Restrict Disposal of Coal Fly Ash
Officials say it would 'cripple' coal industry
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
22 September 2010
By Don Hopey, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A federal proposal that would impose tough new controls on coal fly ash
disposal was endorsed by environmentalists and people living near ash
impoundments at a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency public hearing
in Pittsburgh on Tuesday.
But industry and power plant officials said the regulation is
unnecessary and burdensome.
Marty Leedy, of Columbus, Ohio-based American Electric Power, said the
proposal to label fly ash a "special waste" but treat it as a hazardous
waste under federal law amounts to "regulatory overkill." Such a rule
change will "cripple" the industry, stigmatize reuse of coal ash in
construction materials, kill jobs, raise construction costs and raise
customer rates, he said.
However, Jeremy Ulery testified that state regulators aren't properly
overseeing a coal refuse site in his hometown of La Belle, Fayette
County, that he said is polluting the community with fly ash and
causing health problems for residents.
"We live in an old coal town, but we're human and entitled to
protections we're not getting," said Mr. Ulery, one of 160 scheduled
speakers at the day-long hearing. "The state isn't paying enough
attention. We need federal controls."
The EPA is proposing to federally regulate coal ash for the first time
in response to risks to groundwater and drinking water supplies from
toxics leaching from impoundments and dry landfills and recent
structural failures. In 2008, the collapse of a Tennessee Valley
Authority ash impoundment near Kingston, Tenn., flooded more than 300
acres of land with coal ash slurry and flowed into the Emory and Clinch
rivers.
The EPA will select one of two rule proposals. One, Subtitle C, would
designate coal fly ash as a "special waste" but regulate it under
federal hazardous waste rules, phase out use of existing wet slurry
impoundments and ensure the structural integrity of the impoundments
through increased inspection and monitoring. The second proposal, under
Subtitle D of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, would
regulate fly ash as a non-hazardous waste and provides for no federal
enforcement. It would be enforced through citizen lawsuits.
Jim Roewer, executive director of the Edison Electric Institute's
Utility Solid Waste Activities Group, said issues such as groundwater
monitoring and contamination, impoundment liners to prevent seepage,
dam safety standards and inspections can all be addressed under
Subtitle D.
"That would not raise the costs of the electricity generators and the
public will be protected," Mr. Roewer said. "Subtitle C is most
burdensome and that costly regulation is not warranted."
But Lisa Widawsky, an attorney with the Environmental Integrity
Project, said the electric power industry can handle the increased
costs, which have been estimated by the EPA at $1.4 billion the first
year and $23 billion overall. She said one electric company,
FirstEnergy, had revenues of $13 billion last year.
Sarah Hodgdon, Sierra Club conservation director, said 20 states don't
regulate coal ash at all, and there is little monitoring or enforcement
in many others.
"Where it's been studied they've found contamination in drinking
water," she said. "That's why it's important to put in the strongest
protections."
Coal fly ash is produced when coal is burned at electric power plants
and is disposed of as a liquid slurry in dammed impoundments or in
landfills if the ash is dry. The nation's power plants produce
approximately 150 million tons of ash a year, an amount expected to
increase as more power plants are required to install more pollution
control equipment that removes contaminants from emissions and adds
them to the ash.
Douglas Biden, president of the Electric Power Generation Association,
a Harrisburg lobbying group representing the state's electric
companies, said Pennsylvania utilities generate 20 million tons of fly
ash a year and beneficially reuse from 40 to 60 percent, the higher
percentage when the economy is good.
The ash is used to make wallboard, concrete and roofing shingles, for
road and trail construction, as abandoned mine and quarry fill, and in
agricultural fertilizer and feed. Industry officials argue that
so-called "beneficial use" would be jeopardized if the ash is
designated a "special waste" and regulated as a hazardous waste.
But concerns have been raised about sometimes high concentrations of
toxic heavy metals -- arsenic, mercury, cadmium, chromium, selenium and
lead -- in the ash.
A 2009 EPA study of leachate water from a fly ash disposal site found
arsenic 1,800 times higher than the federal drinking water standard and
three times higher than the federal hazardous waste standard, said
Jamin Bogi, of the Group Against Smog and Pollution.
"GASP supports Subtitle C because it creates federally enforced
regulations instead of just good advice. ... We believe that hazardous
waste should be treated as hazardous waste, no matter how powerful the
industry that produces it," he said.
The public hearing at the Omni William Penn Hotel was the sixth of
seven EPA hearings held around the country. The last hearing is
scheduled for Sept. 28 in Louisville, Ky.
Don Hopey: dhopey@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1983.