EPA Subtitle D Regulations for Coal Combustion Ash

Coal combustion ash is the waste product from coal-fired power plants; it results after the coal is burned to generate electricity. Coal ash may be more radioactive than nuclear waste but it is exempt from hazardous waste regulations because it is classified as mine waste. All coal waste products are regulated under EPA's Subtitle D regulations for Non-Hazardous Solid Waste Management which grants states and local agencies authority to oversee disposal.

Bevill Exemption

• The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976 regulates hazardous and non-hazardous waste to prevent accumulations that may threaten human health and the environment. In 1980 Congress enacted the Solid Waste Disposal Act Amendments to RCRA. At that time certain types of mine waste were excluded from hazardous waste regulations because they were determined to be large-volume, but low-hazard.

  Also known as the Bevill exemption, the 1980 Amendments identified any material that results from the extraction, benefaction and processing of ores and minerals as non-hazardous because the pollutants had in effect been removed through processing, thus rendering the waste low-hazard. As a result, 20 types of mine waste, including coal combustion products, fall out of the hazardous waste designation, but into the solid waste designation.

State Regulation of Coal Ash

• Regulatory inconsistency within RCRA and SDWA creates obstacles to safe disposal of mine waste. In theory, RCRA was designed to foster the recovery and reuse of materials from waste. Mine waste was particularly valued because of its high volume and residual mineral content. In the case of coal, residuals can produce cement for buildings and highways, decreasing carbon dioxide emissions that would occur if cement was created through traditional processes. In reality, recovery and reuse does not often take place due to restrictive transportation costs associated with hauling waste for reprocessing. Waste accumulates at power plants for longer periods than the regulations originally intended.

Minimum Federal Requirements

• RCRA Subtitle D created minimum standards for coal ash disposal requiring management in landfills or surface impoundments at proper locations as determined by a pre-construction hydrogeologic survey. A liner with leachate collection and runoff controls must be installed as well as groundwater monitoring and corrective action, closure and post-closure plans. The structural integrity of impoundments must be demonstrated during construction and operation.

State Oversight

• All states issue several permits to deal with coal ash, including those regulating location, construction, operation of impoundments, the use of liners, dam safety and pollution discharges into water; but, according to an EPA report written in conjunction with the Department of Energy on "Coal Combustion Waste Management at Landfills and Surface Impoundments, 1994-2004". some states issue permits through their solid waste divisions and some through their National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). Each division has different priorities reflected in the permits issued.

Structural Failure

• When RCRA was written, recoverable waste products were to be reprocessed and reused into valuable materials. However, the tangibles have created a regulatory nightmare for storage, disposal and transportation of hazardous and solid waste. All of these processes require specialized and costly engineering techniques. From a business perspective, it is often more efficient to store waste on site than to transport it for re-processing. As more coal ash waste is stored on--site, more waste accumulates, burdening impoundment structures that can lead to catastrophic failure. For that reason, EPA is expected to directly regulate coal ash in the near future.