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EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson Promises Action on Coal Combustion Wastes By the End of the Year
October 5, 2009
On the CBS news magazine "60 Minutes" last night, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson promised to make a proposal regarding federal regulation of coal combustion waste by the end of the year.
"Why wouldn't you right now, this minute, on '60 Minutes', declare that coal ash is a hazardous waste?" Stahl asked.
"EPA, in making a regulatory determination, has to look at a number of factors, including the toxicity of the material and how it's currently managed, but that's done according to law. And I have committed that no later than December, we will make a regulatory proposal with respect to this material," Jackson explained.
Working with Earthjustice Foundation and Environmental Integrity Project, the Clean Air Task Force petitioned U.S. EPA in 2007 to set minimum safeguards to protect water supplies, human health and the environment at coal combustion waste disposal sites. CATF has been advocating that coal combustion waste be regulated as a "hazardous waste" for over a decade.
Please contact Administrator Jackson at EPA and urge her to adopt these safeguards.
- Contact:
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Lisa Jackson
Administrator
United States Environmental Protection Agency
USEPA Headquarters
Ariel Rios Building
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N. W.
Mail Code: 1101A
Washington, DC 20460
Email: lisa.jackson@epa.gov
To learn more about the hazardous of coal combustion wastes, visit our Power Plant Waste project page.
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Response to Notice of Data Availability (NODA) on the Disposal of Coal Combustion Waste (CCW) in Landfills and Surface Impoundments
August 29, 2007
On February 11, 2008, Clean Air Task Force, Earth Justice and 64 other organizations submitted lengthy comments to the US Environmental Protection Agency demanding that the federal government meet its commitment made in 2000 to develop national regulations for coal combustion wastes (CCW). These comments were submitted in response to a Notice of Data Availability (NODA) published by USEPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response in the August 29, 2007 Federal Register.
The NODA invited public input on three documents: 1) a Draft Risk Assessment revealing adverse health impacts such as cancer risks 1,000 times higher than acceptable levels around CCW disposal sites; 2) a Report from the US Department of Energy and USEPA that falsely downplays the need for federal regulation of CCW asserting that state programs and voluntary compliance with safeguards by industry are protecting people and the environment from this waste; and 3) a list of sites identified as "Damage Cases" in which CCW has contaminated the environment beyond the boundaries of CCW dumps. The NODA also pointed to two competing proposals for addressing CCW: a voluntary plan from utilities that allows them to decide whether they should monitor their CCW sites and a proposal for national regulations from the environmental community that would phase out surface impoundments (known as "ash ponds" or "lagoons") at power plants and improve requirements for CCW landfills. This regulation, proposed by the Task Force last year, is viewable below. USEPA received several thousand comments on the NODA calling for national regulations.
The following files describe the NODA, summarize the concerns of the Task Force and provide our comments. They include detailed critiques of the Risk Assessment by scientists and in-depth assessments of state CCW regulations by knowledgeable advocates:
NODA- Background on the issues in the NODA
- Joint letter submitted by the Task Force and other organizations
- Appendix A: CCW Risk Assessment, High Acknowledged Dangers Are Still Underestimated
- Appendix B: DOE-EPA Report_Hiding Failed Regulation by States
- Appendix C: EPA's Damage Case Assessment_Contamination Ignored
- Appendix D: Industry's "Monitor If You Want To" Plan
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Proposed National CCW Regulation
January 31, 2007
Working with Earthjustice Foundation and Environmental Integrity Project, the Task Force proposed the following national regulation to the USEPA on January 31, 2007, to set minimum safeguards to protect water supplies, human health and the environment at CCW disposal sites.
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Addressing the Solid Wastes of Coal-Fired Power; A CALL TO ACTION!
May 19, 2007
For a national look at CCW, addressing CCW when new power plants are proposed, and enforcing laws to protect the environment from lax CCW dumping practices, view the following presentation.
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Statement Regarding the NRC Report on Coal Ash Placement in Coal Mines
March 1, 2006
