Tag Archives: Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act

EPA Working With States on Real Solutions for Coal Ash Disposal

EPA is working more closely with the states to find real solutions that allow manufacturing, energy production, and other parts of the economy to create jobs while protecting the natural resources on which our lives depend.

One area where coordination with the states is picking up is in how coal ash is managed. States are better equipped to determine how to coal ash in their states should be managed and recycled, but EPA can – and has — set a federal standard. Thanks to a new law by Congress, the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN Act), states are now authorized to manage coal ash under their own permit programs as long as the EPA determines that the state’s requirements are at least as protective as the federal standards.

Building on his Back-to-Basics agenda for refocusing EPA on its core mission and returning power to the states, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt sent a letter this week informing Governors that EPA is working on guidance for state-led coal ash disposal programs under the WIIN Act.

Administrator Pruitt’s letter urges the swift submission of permit programs by states and cooperation to help states get their programs approved under the WIIN Act in order to place regulation and enforcement in the hands of those who best know the needs of their environment and local communities.

Click here to view Administrator Pruitt’s letter.

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