Washington (Platts)--5Mar2009

Two key US senators have formally called on the US Environmental
Protection Agency to use its existing authority to regulate coal combustion
waste in an effort to prevent another massive spill of toxic substances like
that seen at a Tennessee Valley Authority power plant in December, they said.

Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer
and Clean Air and Nuclear Safety Subcommittee Chairman Tom Carper have
introduced a Senate resolution in an effort to speed action from the agency.

In the resolution, S Res 64, the Senate recognizes that EPA has the
existing authority under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act "to
comprehensively regulate coal combustion waste."

The resolution also says that the Senate recognizes the need for TVA "to
be a national leader in technological innovation, low-cost power, and
environmental stewardship."

On December 22, 5.4 million cubic yards of wet coal ash spilled from the
Kingston plant's storage pond, covering about 300 acres surrounding the
facility and entering a nearby waterway.

TVA is investigating the cause of a break in the pond's retention wall
that precipitated the spill. It has submitted a "corrective action plan" to
the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and EPA on its
cleanup efforts at Kingston.

"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," said Boxer, a
California Democrat.

"Senator Carper and I introduced this resolution to underscore the point
that the law already gives EPA the tools it needs protect communities from
dangerous coal ash impoundments," she added.

"The time has come for the Environmental Protection Agency to give
industry the guidelines it needs to safely store this hazardous waste," said
Carper, Democrat-Delaware.

"I look forward to working with the EPA and our EPW Chairman Boxer to
ensure we get the right ash waste regulations in place and soon," he added.

In a resolution, the Senate expresses an opinion. A resolution can go the
floor of the chamber sooner than a bill can and puts an agency on notice to
act before Congress does so.

--Cathy Cash, cathy_cash@platts.com