SELC Outlines Minimum Coal Waste Safeguards Necessary to Protect Environment, Public Health & Safety

Following Congressional pledges for EPA regulation of coal waste after the catastrophic waste spill in Tennessee and a second spill in Alabama, the Southern Environmental Law Center today outlined the minimum safeguards necessary to protect the environment and public health and safety from coal waste.

“Congressional leadership in setting national safeguards is welcome given EPA’s failure to regulate coal waste and the resulting patchwork of inadequate state regulations,” said Chandra Taylor, staff attorney, the Southern Environmental Law Center. “In some states—like North Carolina for example—household garbage is more regulated than the type of toxic-laden coal waste that spilled in Tennessee.”

Often mixed with water and disposed of in surface ponds or landfills, coal combustion waste contains a variety of toxic chemicals and metals including arsenic, lead, and cadmium. An EPA report found that unlined coal combustion waste ponds pose a cancer risk 900 times above what the government considers “acceptable.”

“To be true safeguards for the public and environment, national regulations must address the siting and structure of waste storage, monitoring, corrective action requirements, and long-term financial assurance for any clean-up,” added Taylor. “Ultimately, the type of wet storage that failed at the TVA Kingston facility should be phased out in favor of dry, composite-lined and monitored storage located outside of floodplains.”

Once enforceable regulations are established by EPA, states must follow with regulations at least as stringent, if not more stringent than the federal regulations. The Southern Environmental Law Center advocates that the EPA set the following minimum safeguards for coal combustion waste sites to eliminate unreasonable risks to human health and the environment.
• Siting Restrictions—Ban disposal beneath the seasonal high groundwater table (the natural level at which water stands in a shallow well), prohibit placement of disposal units in floodplains, wetlands, fault areas, seismic impact zones, unstable areas and karst terrain.
• Composite Liners— Protect groundwater through required use of impermeable dual liner systems with fluid landfill waste collection and removal.
• Covers—Require use of covers on waste storage facilities to minimize airborne pollution from the waste, leaching and surface water pollution.
• Comprehensive Monitoring—Mandate consistent groundwater monitoring for all new and existing disposal units with at least one upgradient well and at least three downgradient wells.  Monitoring should include comprehensive testing for common constituents of coal combustion waste. 
• Corrective Action Requirements—Mandate standards for corrective action that include selection of a remedy that is only deemed complete when water quality standards have been restored and maintained for at least a 3-year period.
• Long-term Financial Assurance—Ensure that the owner or operator of a disposal unit adequately plans for the future costs of closure, post-closure care and corrective action for known releases to clean up any pollution that results from placement of coal combustion waste in the environment.

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Founded in 1986, SELC is the only non-profit regional organization dedicated to protecting the native forests, wetlands, air and water quality, wildlife habitat and rural landscapes in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.  SELC works in partnership with more than 100 diverse groups on legal advocacy, policy reform and public education to achieve lasting environmental protections. www.southernenvironment.org