
The EPA’s process for finalizing federal rules for the disposal of coal ash and management of CCR in landfills and impoundments took a step forward on Jan. 11, 2022, when the agency provided its first written comments on many issues related to CCR rule interpretations since the rule was promulgated in April 2015.
Specifically, the EPA reported on CCR Part A demonstrations submitted between September and November 2020. Published Aug. 28, 2020, the CCR Part A Final Rule allowed CCR facilities to apply for an extension to the deadline for initiating closure of their unlined CCR surface impoundments. The Part A Final Rule gave CCR facilities until Nov. 30, 2020, to submit Part A demonstrations to the EPA for approval.
Of the 57 submittals the EPA reviewed requesting deadline extensions, only nine received preliminary decisions from the EPA. The remaining demonstrations were deemed complete, with no decisions issued to date.
Final decisions on these and other sites are expected to be impacted by feedback received during the 30-day comment period following the release of the EPA’s written responses on the first nine proposed decisions. In some cases, the EPA has asserted authority over CCR units that were not the subject of the Part A demonstrations as well as CCR units not yet subject to compliance with the CCR rule. These seven topics addressed by the EPA in its written comments may be of particular interest to utilities.