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On April 17, 2015, EPA promulgated national minimum criteria for existing and new coal combustion residuals (CCR) landfills and surface impoundments (2015 CCR rule). Following promulgation of this rule, stakeholders have raised issues related to specific requirements of the final rule. On March 15, 2018, EPA proposed several changes to the 2015 CCR rule in a rulemaking titled "Phase 1." In this action, EPA is proposing additional targeted changes to the 2015 CCR rule and soliciting comment on other issues. Included in this action are proposals addressing two provisions of the 2015 CCR rule that were remanded back to EPA by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on August 21, 2018. Specifically, EPA is proposing changes to the beneficial use definition and the requirements for managing piles of CCR.

Statement of Need:

On April 17, 2015, EPA finalized national regulations to regulate the disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) as solid waste under subtitle D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) (2015 CCR final rule). The rule was challenged by several different parties, including a coalition of regulated entities and a coalition of public interest environmental organizations. On August 21, 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued its opinion in the case of Utility Solid Waste Activities Group, et al v. EPA, 901 F.3d 414 (DC Cir 2018). The court vacated three provisions from the 2015 CCR final rule and remanded back to EPA the 12,400 threshold in the beneficial use definition and the requirements for managing piles of CCR. This proposed rule addresses the two remanded provision from the court's decision.

Summary of the Legal Basis:

This action addresses the two remanded provisions from USWAG v. EPA , 901 F.3d 414, that is, the 12,400 threshold in the beneficial use definition and the requirements for managing piles of CCR.

Alternatives:

Each of these issues is fairly narrow in scope and we have not identified any significant alternatives for analysis.

Anticipated Costs and Benefits:

The economic assessment estimates that the net annualized impact of this proposed regulatory action over a 40-year period of analysis will be annual costs of between $0.43 million and $3.8 million. The costs are roughly evenly attributable to the proposed change to the beneficial use criterion 4 and the proposed amendments for the annual groundwater monitoring and corrective action reports.

Risks:

Compared with the risks to human health and the environment that were presented in the 2015 CCR final rule, the proposed amendments discussed in this action are not expected to impact the overall conclusions in the 2015 CCR final rule. As a result, the Agency believes these amendments, if finalized as proposed, would be protective of human health and the environment.