Last December, EPA announced its final rule regarding the management of coal combustion residuals ("CCR" a/k/a "coal ash"). This came several years after initial alternative proposals were offered for public comment, and the Agency's subsequent review of over 450,000 written comments. The announcement reflected a decision to regulate CCR as a non-hazardous waste under Subtitle D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act ("RCRA"). Such a classification had been supported by the power industry and industry groups and businesses that use coal ash in manufacturing and ...
EPA's new rules for limiting emissions of carbon dioxide for both existing power plants and proposed plants have prompted at least two substantive reports by public policy institutes focusing on the economic aspects of the proposals. The Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University and The Heritage Foundation have recently published reports that estimate the potential costs, particularly in terms of jobs, associated with the adoption of these regulations. These reports can be viewed here (Beacon Hill) and (Heritage Foundation). The Heritage Foundation report has apparently ...
The process of hydraulic fracturing (also known simply as "fracking") continues to divide the public and public policymakers, even as resulting lower natural gas prices have encouraged industries, including many power plants, to convert from coal-fired boilers as one means as coping with coming limitations on the emissions of carbon monoxide. Local concerns about fracking activity have their origin in concern about pollution of drinking water sources. Those concerns have now expanded to include concerns about the management of fracking fluid wastes and the possibility that ...
Last week the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (BAS) moved the minute hand on the Doomsday Clock two minutes closer to midnight. Advancement of the clock hand symbolizes experts' concerns on the threat of global catastrophe. Kennette Benedict, executive director of the BAS warned that countries emitting carbon dioxide and other gases are transforming the Earth's climate in a dangerous way, leaving millions vulnerable to rising sea levels, famines and killer storms. The executive director, however, emphasized that BAS' message was not one of hopelessness, indicating that it is ...
Expectations are running high among some that the incoming Republican majority in both Houses of Congress will act to change or eliminate various environmental regulations and statutory provisions that they claim harm the economy. Interest groups are extending these efforts to enlist State officials in opposing these regulations at that level and, for his part, President Obama has indicated an intent to use his veto authority in an effort to prevent major changes in regulation and policy. One of the foremost issues of concern on the part of many Republicans is the proposal to limit ...
On December 10, 2014, the EPA administrator published its latest version on a rule revising recycling related provisions under the definition of solid waste rule (DSW rule). See 40 CFR Parts 260 and 261, Docket No. EPA-HQ-RCRA-2010-0742 (Dec. 10, 2014). The revisions were made to help alleviate concerns regarding disproportionate health and environmental risks suffered by low income communities buttressing local recycling facilities. These new revisions are predicted to make it increasingly difficult for facilities who purport to be recycling to illegally dispose of ...
Fracking received much attention and debate in the fourth quarter. Fracking is the process of injecting large amounts of water, sand and chemicals into the ground at high pressures in order to release oil and natural gas into underground rock formations. On December 17, 2014, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced his administration's plan to ban fracking due to health concerns. His decision follows a presentation by New York state health commissioner finding "significant public health risks" linked to fracking. See Thomas Kaplan, Citing Health Risks, Cuomo Bans Fracking in New ...
December 19, 2014 marked the deadline for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to announce its final decision regarding a new regulatory scheme for coal ash disposal (Coal Combustion Residuals or CCR). The new regulations are to focus on the disposal of coal ash. The pressure for new regulations began mounting after the rupture of a Tennessee power plant in 2008 which sent over 1 billion gallons of coal ash into nearby Tennessee rivers. Subsequently, on February 2, 2014, a Duke Energy plant released approximately 39,000 tons of coal ash into the Dan River in North Carolina. During ...
December 18, 2014, marked the release of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) annual environmental enforcement and compliance results. See News Release, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Announces 2014 Annual Environmental Enforcement Results (Dec. 18, 2014). According to the EPA, its enforcement actions in 2014 required businesses across the country to invest more than $9.7 billion in regulatory compliance and equipment. Additionally, EPA collected a total of $163 million in combined federal administrative, civil judicial penalties, and criminal ...
The U.S. EPA's efforts to develop a new regulatory path for coal ash ("Coal Combustion Residuals" or "CCR") by regulating the material either as a hazardous waste or as a solid but non-hazardous waste, are nearing a conclusion. The deadline for EPA to announce a final decision is December 19. As we noted in February, this date was fixed by a consent decree filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on January 29 of this year, and a press release at that time by the American Coal Ash Association provides a link to the consent decree. Statements by EPA Headquarters staff in a ...
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