Electric co-ops seek fact-driven, flexible coal ash regulation

As the Environmental Protection Agency continues to review and revise the rules governing power plant coal ash management, it should remain focused on implementing a fact-based, flexible rule that can be implemented and enforced through federal and state permits.

In 2015, President Barack Obama’s EPA proposed the initial coal ash management rule and determined that the byproducts of using coal to generate electricity were nonhazardous. The EPA encouraged the continued safe reuse of this residue in products such as concrete and wallboard.