Ensuring Safe Disposal of Coal Ash Act

Ensuring Safe Disposal of Coal Ash Act

This bill updates the requirements related to state permit programs for the regulation of coal combustion residuals units, as administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Specifically, the EPA must revise its regulations related to approved state programs for regulating coal combustion residuals units to include any criteria necessary to protect human health and the environment, including the health of vulnerable or disproportionately exposed subpopulations. The regulation revisions must include specified requirements, for example, requiring meaningful public participation in the issuance and renewal of all permits or other prior approvals.

The EPA must promulgate regulations that (1) set forth minimum requirements for state and federal coal combustion residuals permit programs, and (2) require owners of closed coal combustion residuals disposal sites to identify the locations of such sites and record the information in the public record to ensure that the locations are known and can be located in the future.

Under the bill, the EPA must also

• implement a requirement for a public hearing in the approval process for establishing a state permit program;
• review state permit programs at least once every 5 years (the current requirement is once every 12 years);
• review such programs not later than one year after it revises applicable criteria for federal regulations related to coal combustion residuals units; and
• include a reasonable period of time, not to exceed 180 days, for a state to correct deficiencies with respect to its permit program.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov