EPA won't regulate coal ash as hazardous waste

http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/12/19/4416421/epa-wont-regulate-coal-ash-as.html


The first federal rules on coal ash from power plants, released Friday, set the bar generally lower than North Carolina did in responding to Duke Energy’s February spill into the Dan River.


The Environmental Protection Agency said it will regulate coal ash as solid waste, such as municipal garbage, instead of as a hazardous waste. Ash contains elements that can be toxic in water.


That decision leaves it to utilities to comply with the new federal rule, without federal enforcement. States can adopt similar standards if they choose, but enforcement is otherwise left to citizens by filing lawsuits.

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