One of the EPA’s alternatives would regulate coal ash as a “special” (but not necessarily hazardous) waste using a classification authorized under Subtitle C of RCRA. The other alternative would use Subtitle D of RCRA and classify the material as a solid, but not hazardous or special, waste. In August 2013, in a Notice of Data Availability, the EPA invited comments about new information obtained in conjunction with the agency’s draft June 2010 coal ash rule. Observers suggest the final coal ash disposal rule could be issued after the related effluent limitations guidelines rule is finalized, which is expected in the first half of 2014.
But the EPA told POWERnews earlier this month that while it was working to comply with the federal court’s order, it had received more than 450,000 comments on the proposed rule, “which raised a number of complex issues.” In response to its solicitation, the EPA also received “additional technical data,” and it said it would finalize the rule pending a full evaluation of all the information and comments received.
The agency on Jan. 14 missed a legally set deadline to issue finalized standards for cooling water intake structures for all existing power generating facilities under Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act. On Wednesday, a spokesperson from the Department of Justice told POWERnews that the government was “in discussions towards setting a new date.”
The case is Appalachian Voices, et al. v. EPA (Docket No. 1:12-cv-00523 RBW)
—Sonal Patel, associate editor (@POWERmagazine, @sonalcpatel)