House passage of Coal Residuals Reuse Act gets mixed reviews
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act of 2013, HR 2218, to mixed reviews.
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A coal fly ash lagoon. Credit: Richard Webb/Wikimedia Commons |
The bill establishes a non-hazardous regulatory framework to govern the disposal of coal combustion residuals, while ensuring that a minimum federal requirement for the disposal of coal combustion residuals is implemented and that the beneficial uses of coal combustion residuals can continue.
Sierra Club Deputy Director of National Campaigns Melinda Pierce claims that, in passing the bill, the U.S. House of Representatives "took one step closer to officially handing over their lawmaking authority to big polluters."
"Imagine stopping every police officer in the middle of a riot or every firefighter in the middle of a blaze, and you'll get a glimpse into what this bill does," Pierce explained in a statement. "We know from the devastating Tennessee Valley Authority coal ash spill that neither states nor the coal industry will do anything to control their own waste. That's why we need strong, enforceable national standards that put human health and clean water first."
EEI, the association that represents all U.S. investor-owned electric companies, disagrees, commending the passage as an effort to resolve the regulatory uncertainty surrounding coal ash disposal.
"This legislation will ensure that coal ash is managed properly and in an environmentally protective way while preserving the beneficial uses of coal ash on which many good American jobs depend," EEI President Tom Kuhn said. "[The] bipartisan vote is a victory for the environment, jobs and electricity consumers. We…urge the Senate to quickly take up this bill to eliminate the regulatory uncertainty surrounding coal ash."
A letter to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Energy and Commerce Committee signed by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, American Public Power Association, and the Utility Solid Waste Activities Group praised the bill, stating, "We believe that the states are in the best position to implement and enforce a permit program for CCR disposal. HR 2218 establishes an environmentally protective framework that includes a key role for EPA to ensure state programs are properly developed…The public can have confidence that the central components of an effective regulatory program will be implemented at facilities across the country. Even more important, they can have confidence that a disposal unit that does not meet environmental and safety standards will be closed."
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