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Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Billions of dollars of planned spending on environmental remediation projects at U.S. coal-fired generators could be affected if federal proposals to ease the disposal of coal ash and wastewater from coal-fired power plants are adopted as drafted.
Two draft rules issued November 4 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cover coal combustion residuals (CCR) and effluent limitations guidelines (ELG). The public will have 60 days to comment on either draft rule once it is published in the Federal Register. The agency will not hold a public meeting to take comments on the proposed rules; instead, it will hold one online "virtual" public meeting on December 19 to gather feedback on both draft regulations.
Industrial Info is tracking 74 active CCR cleanup projects valued at about $8 billion. It also is tracking 17 active ELG projects valued at $731 million.
Click on the images at right to see which states have the greatest dollar value of planned ELG or CCR projects.
The states with the greatest number of CCR projects are North Carolina, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky. The states with the largest number of ELG projects are Pennsylvania, Illinois, Kentucky and Indiana.
The EPA said it released the proposed rule changes at the same time because the revised rules could affect many of the same generators. The agency said it "coordinated their timing to promote transparency and regulatory certainty for the U.S. power sector and electric reliability for consumers."
"The first thing to keep in mind is that we are at the start of a long rulemaking process that likely will include litigation," said Brock Ramey, Industrial Info's power specialist. "In addition, several states have regulations covering these matters, and some remediation projects are mandated as part of legal settlements."
"Finally," he continued, "a lot of these owners have remediation projects underway, or in a late phase of development, with contracts already signed. I doubt they will stop their process on a proposed rule."
The draft CCR rule would affect coal ash ponds while the proposed changes to the ELG regulation would affect wastewater management from steam electric power plants.
The rule was applauded by coal-state government officials, a coal-power advocacy group and a coal-ash trade group, the Utility Solid Waste Activities Group, which includes about 80 utilities and energy organizations. Environmental organizations criticized the proposals. Once the rule is finalized, groups opposing it are expected to file a lawsuit to block its implementation.
Federal regulation of coal ash impoundment facilities was driven by the 2008 failure of an ash pond in Tennessee that released an estimated 1.1 billion gallons of wet coal waste into two rivers and over 300 acres of land. The draft CCR rule released by the EPA November 4 would affect as many as 522 coal-fired units at 230 facilities nationwide.
The EPA draft rule would change the nation's CCR regulation by:
In 2015, the EPA established a rule covering the management of CCRs, commonly known as coal ash, fly ash, bottom ash, boiler slag, and flue gas desulfurization materials, generated from coal-fired electricity utilities. Three years later, in 2018, a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., overturned certain provisions of the EPA's 2015 final rule and remanded some provisions back to the agency.
In a proposal released in August, the EPA proposed ways to increase the beneficial use of CCR while scaling back regulation of CCR impoundment facilities.
The EPA said the proposed CCR rule is one of several planned revisions "to provide a clear and stable regulatory framework for coal ash management and disposal and address matters raised in litigation, legislation, petitions for reconsideration and rule implementation."
But in testimony submitted last month to the EPA, Avner Vengosh, professor of geochemistry and water quality at Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment, criticized the EPA's effort to loosen restrictions on coal ash that were tied to how much is used beneficially in wallboard and cement.
"Based on my review of the U.S. EPA proposal for amendments of the federal coal ash regulations, and on my knowledge and experience, it is my opinion that the proposed amendments would considerably weaken the existing federal regulations and will result in higher risks to water resources and human health," Vengosh said in his testimony. "The reduction of the environmental protection and safeguards that were established as part of the federal 2015 Coal Ash Rule would severely exacerbate the already identified environmental effects associated with coal ash storage and disposal."
"Our experiments suggest that when coal ash interacts with water--as it will if it is spread on soil or buried in soil without protective liners--there is extensive mobilization of arsenic, selenium and chromium, in the form of highly toxic hexavalent chromium," added Vengosh.
Britt Burt, Industrial Info's vice president of research for the global power industry, said he doubted that the proposed rule changes, if they are adopted, would meaningfully slow the retirement of coal-fired generation in the U.S.
"We've had about 9,000 megawatts (MW) of coal plant closures so far this year, and that number could grow by another 5,000 to 7,000 MW before 2019 is done," he said. "Coal is shrinking more because of low-cost natural gas and increasingly competitive renewable generation. These particular proposed rules are not expected to have a major impact in determining whether an operating coal unit remains open or is retired."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.
Two draft rules issued November 4 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cover coal combustion residuals (CCR) and effluent limitations guidelines (ELG). The public will have 60 days to comment on either draft rule once it is published in the Federal Register. The agency will not hold a public meeting to take comments on the proposed rules; instead, it will hold one online "virtual" public meeting on December 19 to gather feedback on both draft regulations.
Industrial Info is tracking 74 active CCR cleanup projects valued at about $8 billion. It also is tracking 17 active ELG projects valued at $731 million.
The states with the greatest number of CCR projects are North Carolina, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky. The states with the largest number of ELG projects are Pennsylvania, Illinois, Kentucky and Indiana.
The EPA said it released the proposed rule changes at the same time because the revised rules could affect many of the same generators. The agency said it "coordinated their timing to promote transparency and regulatory certainty for the U.S. power sector and electric reliability for consumers."
"The first thing to keep in mind is that we are at the start of a long rulemaking process that likely will include litigation," said Brock Ramey, Industrial Info's power specialist. "In addition, several states have regulations covering these matters, and some remediation projects are mandated as part of legal settlements."
"Finally," he continued, "a lot of these owners have remediation projects underway, or in a late phase of development, with contracts already signed. I doubt they will stop their process on a proposed rule."
The draft CCR rule would affect coal ash ponds while the proposed changes to the ELG regulation would affect wastewater management from steam electric power plants.
The rule was applauded by coal-state government officials, a coal-power advocacy group and a coal-ash trade group, the Utility Solid Waste Activities Group, which includes about 80 utilities and energy organizations. Environmental organizations criticized the proposals. Once the rule is finalized, groups opposing it are expected to file a lawsuit to block its implementation.
Federal regulation of coal ash impoundment facilities was driven by the 2008 failure of an ash pond in Tennessee that released an estimated 1.1 billion gallons of wet coal waste into two rivers and over 300 acres of land. The draft CCR rule released by the EPA November 4 would affect as many as 522 coal-fired units at 230 facilities nationwide.
The EPA draft rule would change the nation's CCR regulation by:
- Pushing back to August 31, 2020, the date in which companies must stop placing waste in unlined ash ponds. After that date, asset owners would need to either close those unlined ponds or line them.
- Providing certain facilities with additional time to comply with pond closure provisions that would allow operators to develop alternate capacity to manage their waste streams.
- Reclassifying compacted-soil lined or clay-lined surface impoundments as "unlined" impoundments, meaning they would be required to either close or be retrofitted to comply with closure requirements.
- Requiring all unlined ash ponds units to close or be upgraded. Previously, operators of unlined facilities would only have to close or retrofit their facilities if groundwater contamination above regulatory levels was detected.
In 2015, the EPA established a rule covering the management of CCRs, commonly known as coal ash, fly ash, bottom ash, boiler slag, and flue gas desulfurization materials, generated from coal-fired electricity utilities. Three years later, in 2018, a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., overturned certain provisions of the EPA's 2015 final rule and remanded some provisions back to the agency.
In a proposal released in August, the EPA proposed ways to increase the beneficial use of CCR while scaling back regulation of CCR impoundment facilities.
The EPA said the proposed CCR rule is one of several planned revisions "to provide a clear and stable regulatory framework for coal ash management and disposal and address matters raised in litigation, legislation, petitions for reconsideration and rule implementation."
But in testimony submitted last month to the EPA, Avner Vengosh, professor of geochemistry and water quality at Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment, criticized the EPA's effort to loosen restrictions on coal ash that were tied to how much is used beneficially in wallboard and cement.
"Based on my review of the U.S. EPA proposal for amendments of the federal coal ash regulations, and on my knowledge and experience, it is my opinion that the proposed amendments would considerably weaken the existing federal regulations and will result in higher risks to water resources and human health," Vengosh said in his testimony. "The reduction of the environmental protection and safeguards that were established as part of the federal 2015 Coal Ash Rule would severely exacerbate the already identified environmental effects associated with coal ash storage and disposal."
"Our experiments suggest that when coal ash interacts with water--as it will if it is spread on soil or buried in soil without protective liners--there is extensive mobilization of arsenic, selenium and chromium, in the form of highly toxic hexavalent chromium," added Vengosh.
Britt Burt, Industrial Info's vice president of research for the global power industry, said he doubted that the proposed rule changes, if they are adopted, would meaningfully slow the retirement of coal-fired generation in the U.S.
"We've had about 9,000 megawatts (MW) of coal plant closures so far this year, and that number could grow by another 5,000 to 7,000 MW before 2019 is done," he said. "Coal is shrinking more because of low-cost natural gas and increasingly competitive renewable generation. These particular proposed rules are not expected to have a major impact in determining whether an operating coal unit remains open or is retired."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.
