Take Action

The Obama administration has just proposed a rule under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) that will regulate, for the first time, the handling and disposal of hazardous coal ash waste from the nation’s many coal-fired power plants. RCRA was enacted more than thirty years ago to monitor and control the harmful impacts of irresponsible waste disposal on our water and airsheds and our landscapes. RCRA’s hazardous waste provisions under Subtitle C of the Act provide a strong oversight vehicle for the extremely toxic 150 million tons of coal ash produced in the US each year.

 

That’s the good news. The bad news is that EPA’s proposed rule offers an out to industry by way of an alternative to the Subtitle C approach. In addition to the Subtitle C hazardous waste section, RCRA also contains much more lax regulatory provisions under Subtitle D where non-hazardous, solid wastes like your own household garbage are covered. Under this section, regulation and enforcement is left largely to the states, resulting in a patchwork approach of inconsistent monitoring and control. In its proposed rule, EPA is considering regulation of coal ash under either Subtitle C or, as an alternative, Subtitle D. Their primary justification for considering the “D” option is that it will cost the industry a whole lot less money than regulation under “C”. In other words, EPA is considering trading off your health and safety for industry profits.

 

Write EPA today and tell them that there is only one real option for regulating hazardous coal ash waste and that is the Subtitle C approach. Coal ash is a dangerous mixture of arsenic, lead, mercury and many other poisons. When improperly disposed of it contaminates drinking water supplies, surface waters and communities. There are thousands of these poorly managed and maintained coal ash impoundments across the country – thousands of TVA coal ash disasters waiting to happen.