Regulating Coal Ash:
EPA Must Choose a Policy that will Protect Human Health
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is promulgating new rules for the disposal of coal ash,
the waste left after coal is combusted. The EPA is presenting two different options for how coal ash
disposal would be regulated, and is accepting citizen comments on them.
PSR strongly urges that you voice your support for regulation under Subtitle C.
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Both options operate under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA), yet
they differ greatly in how they would implement and enforce the law.
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Both would require protective liners for new impoundments, groundwater protection, and
stronger walls for impoundments; however, their differences in implementation and
enforcement result in vast discrepancies in how much they protect human health.
PSR supports regulating coal ash under Subtitle C of RCRA, which would establish mandatory
requirements for the states to meet in disposing of coal ash. Among its safeguards, it would:
 provide cradle-to-grave requirements for coal ash handling;
 phase out wet surface impoundments (coal ash “ponds”), which leach toxic substances far
more frequently than dry landfill storage; and
 establish direct federal enforcement of the law.
The second option, under Subtitle D of RCRA, would place the burden on citizens to file law suits to
enforce the law – after the law had been violated. And it would force citizens to combat the utility
companies in order to gain protection from a massive waste stream. Specifically, it would :
set guidelines for regulating coal ash, but allow states to opt out of those guidelines;
define facilities that fail to follow those optional guidelines as "open dumps" prohibited under
RCRA, and then
give citizens the right – in effect the responsibility – to file suit in order to enforce RCRA’s
provisions against open dumps.
Email the EPA to support Subtitle C regulation of coal ash, as the only option that establishes and
enforces provisions that prevent coal ash from inflicting harm. Mail your comments to: [email protected]. Use as your subject line: Attention Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–RCRA–2009–0640.
(Note: Comments must be signed with name and full address. That information will be publicly visible
on the EPA docket.)
For suggestions on how to prepare your comments, keep reading…
How to prepare and submit your comments
a. What to focus on. The EPA is specifically interested in receiving comments that:
• specify which regulatory option you prefer (PSR supports Subtitle C), and
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specify what risks to health and the environment concern you in the disposal of coal ash.
For example, you may wish to focus on the toxicity and health effects of the heavy metals found in
coal ash; their ability to leach out of coal ash when in contact with water; the longevity of heavy metal
contaminants in the environment; or the unacceptable frequency with which coal ash contaminants
leak, spill or leach from storage sites into the environment. For PSR resource materials, see below.
We also call for a critical improvement to Subtitle C, which has an important loophole: It would not
regulate the dumping of coal ash in mines. Mine dumping places large quantities of coal ash in
unlined, non-engineered pits where the ash can be exposed to water, allowing its contaminants to
leach into groundwater. This poses grave dangers to human health. Please add to your comments
the demand an end to coal ash dumping in mines.
b. Resource materials. PSR offers factual resources focused on coal ash and health.
• Read PSR’s new report on the health impacts of coal ash, which provides full information on
coal ash’s risks to health, pathways to exposure, types of storage facilities, leaching patterns,
and damage cases.
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Find background information on coal ash on PSR’s website.
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PSR offers a fact sheet with concise health information on coal ash.
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Another fact sheet summarizes the health impacts of toxic substances that leach from coal ash.
c. How to submit comments.
Submit your comments via email to the EPA. Use as your subject line: Attention Docket ID No.
EPA–HQ–RCRA–2009–0640. Please sign with your name and full address. That information will be
visible to others viewing the EPA docket.
The best comments are factual and concise. State clearly your preference for Subtitle C’s provisions
for mandatory disposal requirements and federal enforcement. If you are a health professional, we
encourage you to state that in your comments.
You can see comments submitted by other people on the EPA website. Check the box for “public
submissions” and un-check the other boxes.
Thank you for speaking out on this pervasive but little-known toxic risk to health.