Indiana has more coal ash sites than any other state, and environmental advocates say a federal proposal for disposing of the waste could put Hoosiers’ health at risk.
In May, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reopened public comment on a rule first proposed in 2020 during President Donald Trump’s first term in the White House that was never finalized. The rule would create a federal permitting program for coal ash disposal and storage.
While the EPA says the permits would create a program for coal ash to be disposed of in a “streamlined” manner, local environmental advocates say the proposal would reduce transparency and place communities at greater risk of contamination.
Coal ash contains pollutants such as arsenic, chromium, lead, mercury and other heavy metals linked to cancer, heart disease and reproductive failure.
The permit program builds on a series of changes the EPA is proposing to how coal ash is stored and handled in the United States.
“EPA has used the lessons learned from many years of implementing hazardous waste and other permitting programs to design an efficient, federal [coal ash] permitting process,” the agency website says.
Coal ash permit proposal opens for comments
The newest rule sets out to create a series of potential permits without expiration dates.
Coal ash owners and operators could seek individual permits that would be tailored for specific disposal sites, as well as general permits that would consist of much broader criteria. General permits could include multiple disposal sites under one permit, which advocates say ignores site-specific criteria.
Indra Frank, coal ash advisor for the Hoosier Environmental Council, said the permitting program has issues as it’s currently written.
The permits issued under the program would last in perpetuity, unlike other federal environmental permits that must be renewed.
“With this proposal for coal ash, [EPA] is proposing to issue permits for life with no renewal,” Frank said.
This means there is less opportunity for the public to comment on how permits are issued, creating transparency issues for communities concerned about potential contamination, Frank said.
Municipal landfills, where residential trash is taken, would operate with more transparency and public input than coal ash units under the proposed permit program, she said.
“Why treat coal ash in a more lax manner than we treat municipal waste,” Frank said.
Issuing general permits would create a one-size-fits-all situation that could mean the EPA rubber stamps applications without reviewing the disposal sites.
“[Utilities] could apply for a general permit, get it, and then nobody really checks in on what the entity is doing,” Frank said.
That system applies equally to coal ash sites in the country away from people and those in densely populated areas, Frank said.
“[C]onsider trucks going in and out that could be spreading coal ash dust into the streets where neighbors live,” Frank said.
Broader coal ash rollbacks affect Indiana
In Michigan City where Indiana meets Lake Michigan, a coal-fired power plant stores millions of tons of coal ash at the shoreline.
For Ashley Williams, executive director of Just Transition Northwest Indiana, the attempts to roll back coal ash rules weaken protections for Hoosiers living near these sites as well as the Lake Michigan ecosystem.
Just Transition wants to see the coal ash removed and properly stored and the area cleaned up for public use. The most recent plans out of Washington seem headed in the opposite direction, Williams said.
“It’s just been such a complete gut punch for us here and for the years and years of organizing we have dedicated fighting for stronger rules” Williams said.
Unlike other states, Indiana law says the state cannot create environmental regulations more stringent than those of the federal government, leaving little recourse for the EPA’s loosening regulations around coal ash.
Public comment for EPA’s coal ash permitting program remains open until June 29. People can submit comments by referencing the ID of the rule, EPA-HQ-OLEM-2019-0361, and submitting them online at regulations.gov, or by mail to the EPA Docket Center via 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20460.
Karl Schneider is an IndyStar environment reporter. You can reach him at karl.schneider@indystar.com. Follow him on BlueSky or Twitter @karlstartswithk
IndyStar’s environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: EPA revives coal ash permit proposal. Advocates want more transparency
Reporting by Karl Schneider, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Karl Schneider, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
