After five and a half years of proposals, reworking and review of 450,000-plus comments, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a final rule on coal combustion residuals (CCR) from utility power plants, strengthening management guidelines for impoundment- or landfill-bound material while supporting responsible recycling practices best exemplified in ASTM C618-grade fly ash processing and marketing.
Tag: ACAA
JUDGE COMPELS EPA TO PICK UP PACE ON LANGUISHING COAL ASH DISPOSAL RULE
A late-January federal court action establishes a December 2014 deadline for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to finalize a rulemaking, initiated in early 2009, that has created uncertainty over the regulatory status for all grades of coal ash, including ASTM C618 product. “The regulatory uncertainty that has impeded the beneficial use of coal ash for half a decade is finally coming to an end,” affirms American Coal Ash Association (ACAA) Executive Director Thomas Adams. “It now appears 2014 is the year for EPA to finally establish federal coal ash disposal guidelines under the ‘non-hazardous’ section of the law.”
Read MoreRegulatory Uncertainty Drives Coal Ash Recycling To Fourth Straight Year Of Decline
Coal ash recycling in the U.S. was off 4.7 million tons in 2012 against the prior year, according to the American Coal Ash Association (ACAA) “Production and Use Survey” released last month. Ash utilization has stalled after nearly a decade of growth of a practice that conserves energy and natural resources, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and safely keeps ash out of landfills and disposal ponds.
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