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The U.S. Environmental Safety Company on Thursday rejected Alabama’s proposal to take over coal ash regulation, saying the state plan doesn’t do sufficient to guard individuals and waterways.
The company mentioned the state’s proposal was “considerably much less protecting” than required by federal rules, and that it “doesn’t require that groundwater contamination be adequately addressed through the closure of those coal ash models.”
“EPA is laser centered on defending individuals from publicity to air pollution, like coal ash, that may trigger most cancers dangers and different critical well being points,” EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan mentioned in a information launch.
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Coal ash is what stays when coal is burned to generate electrical energy. Coal ash accommodates contaminants corresponding to mercury, chromium and arsenic related to most cancers and different well being issues. States can assume oversight of coal ash disposal however should meet minimal federal necessities.
Placard on exterior of EPA Constructing in Washington, D.C. (iStock)
Alabama Division of Environmental Administration spokeswoman M. Lynn Battle wrote in an electronic mail that the company was reviewing the 174-page doc and would remark in a while the choice.
The EPA warned final 12 months that it was poised to reject Alabama’s program, citing deficiencies in Alabama’s permits for closure necessities of unlined floor impoundments, groundwater monitoring and required corrective actions.
The Southern Environmental Regulation Middle and different teams praised the choice.
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“Right this moment marks a major victory for each Alabamian who values clear water,” Cade Kistler of Cellular Baykeeper mentioned in an announcement. “The EPA’s remaining denial underscores what our communities have mentioned all alongside — that leaving poisonous coal ash in unlined leaking pits by our rivers is unacceptable.”
