Regulatory Change of Coal Combustion Byproducts Unnecessary, Costly
March 8, 2010
Contact: Rich Halvey (303) 623-9378
DENVER -- Western Governors are calling on the Administration to allow their states to continue their effective regulation of coal combustion byproducts as a solid waste and not declare them a hazardous waste, preventing their use for road construction and other purposes and resulting in lost jobs and increased costs to states and the public.
The Western Governors' Association noted in a new policy resolution that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been conducting an internal review on whether to reverse its position on whether CCB should be regulated as a hazardous waste.
"Should the EPA begin regulating CCB as hazardous waste, it would undercut the Western states' existing and effective state regulatory authority resulting in additional and unwarranted regulatory programs that have the potential to add costly burdens to our states' budgets that are already significantly strained," said Gov. Brian Schweitzer (Mont.), WGA Chairman.
EPA's review was prompted by the failure of a wet ash impoundment pond in 2008 at a Tennessee Valley Administration facility. The governors said in light of that failure, and with appropriate guidance from EPA, all states should review their existing regulations and make any changes that are necessary.
“Western Governors agree with the EPA’s findings in 1993 and 2000 that CCB shouldn’t be regulated as hazardous wastes and that states in the West already have an effective regulatory system in place to handle it,” said Gov. C. L. “Butch” Otter (Idaho), WGA’s Vice Chairman.
Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona said, "Western states have the tools and authorities in place to continue protecting public health and the environment without a new national mandate from Washington, D.C. that could cut jobs and increase costs."
Gov. Gary Herbert of Utah emphasized that a portion of the coal-fired electric generation in the WGA states also could be negatively affected if acceptable beneficial use of CCB is disallowed.
"Western ratepayers and small businesses already coping with a down economy could see higher electric bills as a result," Herbert said.
A copy of the resolution is available on the WGA Web site at: www.westgov.org.
# # # # #