Coal Tattoo

Senators to EPA: Regulate coal ash

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Several U.S. senators are pushing to mandate that the Obama administration EPA move quickly to regulate coal ash, the hot topic in the environmental world since December’s mess at a TVA power plant site in Tennessee.

boxercarper.jpgSens. Barbara Boxer and Thomas Carper this week introduced Senate Resolution 64, calling on EPA to conduct immediate reviews and inspections of all coal-ash impoundments nationwide, and to propose “as quickly as possible” new regulations to govern the handling and disposal of coal ash under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

“The Kingston coal ash spill is an ongoing tragedy that must not be repeated, and we have the laws on the books to act now,” Boxer said. “Senator Carper and I introduced this resolution to underscore the point that the law already gives EPA the tools it needs to protect to communities from dangerous coal ash impoundments.”

Boxer, D-Calif., is chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Carper, D-Del., is chairman of the Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety.

Still unclear, though, is exactly what section of RCRA EPA might use to regulate coal ash — as hazardous waste under Subtitle C, or under the less stringent Subtitle D.

There’s lots of other TVA news out there today, including word of a $1 million bonus for TVA Chairman Tom Gilgore,  an interview on Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting’s CounterSpin program with Kristen Lombardi of the Center for Public Integrity about her investigation of coal ash, and allegations that police are harassing volunteers from the group United Mountain Defense who are working with residents in the Kingston, Tenn., area: