On April 17, 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated national minimum criteria for existing and new coal combustion residuals (CCR) landfills and surface impoundments (2015 CCR rule). On August 14, 2019, the EPA proposed to revise two provisions of the 2015 CCR rule that were remanded to the EPA in 2018 by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. First, the EPA proposed to revise the CCR beneficial use definition by replacing the mass-based numerical threshold with specific location-based criteria as the trigger for conducting an environmental demonstration. Second, the EPA proposed to introduce a single approach to consistently address the potential environmental and human health issues associated with piles of CCR, regardless of the location of the pile and whether the CCR is destined for disposal or beneficial use.

The Agency published a Notice of Data Availability (NODA) on December 22, 2020 sharing information the Agency received in response to the initial comment period for the August 2019 proposed rule as well as information that EPA obtained after the close of the initial comment period from stakeholder meetings. From the end of May 2020 to August 2020, EPA held ten stakeholder meetings with the trade associations and their members; state environmental and transportation agencies; environmental organizations and private citizens. EPA and stakeholders discussed technical information and data on beneficial use applications and the specific practices facilities use to manage their CCR accumulations. This NODA also requested additional information to inform the Agency’s reconsideration of the beneficial use definition and requirements for managing piles of CCR. On February 15, 2021, a public commenter formally requested an additional 60 days to review the documents in the NODA and to develop and submit comments. Following this request, EPA reopened the comment period for 60 days, from March 12, 2021 to May 11, 2021. The Agency is now reviewing the public comments and analyzing any additional information to determine the appropriate next steps. While these two issues are under the Agency’s reconsideration, the provisions promulgated in the 2015 CCR rule remain in place for the beneficial use definition and piles of CCR.