While there is nothing wrong with wanting to make sure coal ash is handled properly, it should be left up to the individual States to handle their own affairs. States should ignore all these ‘laws’ and regulations created by the EPA, or any other alphabet federal agency for that matter, as are an unconstitutional effort to subjugate the nation to Marxism.
“EPA is taking action to protect our communities from the risk of mismanaged coal ash disposal units, and putting in place safeguards to help prevent the next catastrophic coal ash impoundment failure, which can cost millions for local businesses, communities and states,” EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said in a statement.
After years of delays, the EPA finalized the nation’s first federal coal ash rule just in time for Christmas, which has got coal-fired power plant operators fuming. The coal ash rule not only comes with a hefty $735 million per year price tag, but the coal industry also argues it creates lots of uncertainty for plant operators.
“We still have concerns with the self-implementing nature of the rule and the way in which EPA has left the door open to one day regulate coal ash as a hazardous waste, creating additional uncertainty for electric utilities,” said Tom Kuhn, president of the Edison Electric Institute.
Coal ash is a byproduct of power plants that can be made of various particles and pollutants, like mercury and cadmium, that are disposed of in landfills. The EPA estimates 110 million tons of coal ash is produced every year and about 40 percent of that is recycled by power plants operators.
Sometimes coal ash can spill out into waterways. In fact, the EPA says its new regulation is the result of a 2008 spill by the Tennessee Valley Authority in Kingston, Tennessee when the company’s coal ash pond failed to contain the waste. Earlier this year, Duke Energy spilled coal ash into the Dan River.
“These regulations will add to the challenges the electric power industry faces in providing reliable, affordable and increasingly clean electricity to power the U.S. economy and to enhance the daily lives of all Americans,” Kuhn said.
Environmentalists, however, were disappointed with the EPA’s coal ash rule, saying it didn’t go far enough to protect Americans from power plant waste. Eco-activists’ main source of contention was that the agency did not declare coal ash a “hazardous waste” under federal law.
“The EPA is bowing to coal-fired utilities’ interests and putting the public at great risk by treating toxic coal ash as simple garbage instead of the hazardous waste that it is,” said Scott Slesinger, legislative director at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “Too much of the agency’s new rule is left to the discretion of states, which all too often have favored powerful utility companies instead of the public.”
What they are doing is and has been illegal. Stop them and put the management in prison. Make sure these regulations are reversed after the new representatives are sworn into to office. Obama is also on the list of perverts and terrorists. That is exactly what is going on.
the employment prevention agency is going to bank rupt this country if we don’t shut them down
The EPA is nothing more than another corrupt revenue agency of our corrupt government, their job is nothing more than keeping the money wheel turning, as all arms of our corrupt government. Which is the only reason our government has over grown to the size that it has. These people are not the solution, they are the problem.
We have got to eliminate this job killing agency.
The EPA will crush COAL before the next presidential election. You are sawing off the limb you sit on, Democrats. We may be fat in oil now, but it is not a sure thing to last forever. If we have another oil shortage in the future–THEN WHAT???????
ODama again.
Obama still trying to put more people in the poor house.this is his butt crazy idea