EPA looks to undermine key coal ash rule

Last night the Environmental Protection Agency announced a proposal to significantly weaken the national coal ash rule know as the CCR Rule or Coal Combustion Residuals Rule.

Senior Attorney Frank Holleman leads SELC’s efforts to clean up the coal ash contaminating our waters across the region. Below is his response to the sudden announcement.

Instead of protecting American communities and rivers from coal ash, the Environmental Protection Agency is trying to bail out utilities polluting our waterways and drinking water supplies. Coal ash is polluting rivers, lakes and wells across America, but the Trump administration’s EPA is trying to weaken the standards that are supposed to protect Americans from this toxic threat. These proposals will weaken rules that protect our groundwater from arsenic and mercury, and continue to extend the use of unlined, leaking coal ash pits next to our waterways. America’s families and clean water deserve better.

Read more about the decision in The Washington Post.