Legislative and Regulatory Timeline for Fossil Fuel Combustion Wastes
This timeline walks through the history of fossil fuel combustion waste regulation since 1976 and includes information such as regulations, proposals, notices, amendments, reports and meetings and site visits conducted.
Date(s) | Action or Event | Notes on Significance to Fossil Fuel Combustion Wastes |
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10/21/1976 |
Enactment of Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) | |
12/18/1978 |
EPA proposes first set of hazardous waste management standards (volume 43 of the Federal Register starting on page 58945) (pdf)(63 MB) | Wastes from the combustion of fossil fuels are proposed to be designated as one of the six “special wastes”, which are exempt from RCRA Subtitle C regulations |
10/12/1980 |
Solid Waste Disposal Act Amendments enacted | Bevill amendment added: temporarily exempts three special wastes from hazardous waste regulation until further study is completed |
11/19/1980 |
Includes an exclusion for fossil fuel combustion wastes from the definition of hazardous waste | |
10/31/1982 |
EPA misses the statutory deadline for submitting fossil fuel combustion waste report to Congress | |
02/1988 |
EPA submits “Report to Congress on Wastes from the Combustion of Coal by Electric Utility Power Plants (pdf)(11.4 MB)” | Report only addressed wastes generated from combustion of coal by electric utility power plants and not co-managed utility coal combustion wastes, other fossil fuel combustion wastes, and wastes from non-utility boilers |
08/31/1988 |
EPA misses the statutory deadline for making a regulatory determination on the wastes described in February 1988 report |
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06/1991 |
The Bull Run Coalition in Oregon files a suit against EPA for failure to complete the regulatory determinations on the 1988 report on the wastes studied and not studied |
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06/30/1992 |
EPA enters into a consent decree that establishes a schedule to complete all regulatory determinations |
The EPA divides fossil fuel combustion wastes into two categories: (1) fly ash, bottom ash, boiler slag, and flue gas emission control waste from coal burning utilities, and (2) all the remaining wastes identified |
08/09/1993 |
EPA publishes “Part 1 Regulatory Determination (pdf)” (58 FR 42466) (83.6 MB) for large-volume utility coal combustion wastes |
EPA determines that fly ash, bottom ash, boiler slag, and flue gas emission control dust from coal burning utilities do not apply to Subtitle C and are excluded from the definition of hazardous waste under RCRA |
03/31/1999 |
A “Report to Congress on Wastes from the Combustion of Fossil Fuels” (pdf) (3.6 MB) was submitted by the EPA |
This report addressed the remaining wastes not addressed in the 1988 report |
05/22/2000 |
EPA publishes a “Regulatory Determination on Wastes from the Combustion of Fossil Fuels” in the Federal Register |
EPA concludes that national non-hazardous waste regulations under Subtitle D are needed for coal combustion wastes disposed of in landfills and surface impoundments and used as minefill. EPA retains the hazardous waste exemption for the remaining wastes. EPA also determines that beneficial uses of these wastes pose no significant risk (other than for minefilling) and no additional national regulation is needed. |
05/2001-10/2002 |
The Interstate Mining Compact Commission conducts four Mine Placement of Coal Combustion Waste Meetings |
The purpose of these meetings was to collect and analyze technical and regulatory information related to minefilling of coal combustion waste |
09/2001-10/2002 | EPA conducts site visits to collect information regarding the regulation of coal combustion waste minefill management practices | |
05/19 - 05/20/2003 | EPA holds a meeting on Minefill Practices for Coal Combustion Residue | |
03/23-05/05/2004 | EPA holds four public meetings to learn more about the use and disposal of coal combustion byproducts | |
03/01/2006 | The National Academy of Sciences issues a report on the placement of coal combustion wastes in coal mines | EPA is working with the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) as they amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act regulations |
03/14/2007 | OSMRE publishes an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking about the placement of coal combustion byproducts in active and abandoned coal mines | |
08/29/2007 | EPA publishes a notice of data availability on the disposal of coal combustion waste in landfills and surface impoundments. | |
03/09/2009 | EPA began mailing information request letters to electric utilities and corporations that have surface impoundments or similar units that contain coal combustion residuals. | These letters requested information to assist EPA in evaluating the structural integrity of these management units. |
06/21/2010 | For the first time, EPA proposes to regulate the disposal of coal combustion residuals from electric utilities | EPA proposes two possible options for the disposal of coal combustion residuals to address the risks from the combustion of coal at electric utilities and independent power producers. |
08/20/2010 | EPA publishes a proposed rule making several administrative corrections to the June 21, 2010 proposal, extending the comment period, and announcing additional public hearings. | |
10/21/2010 | EPA publishes a notice of data availability on coal combustion residual surface impoundments. | This notice announces the availability of responses to information requests that EPA sent to electric utilities on their coal combustion residual surface impoundments as well as reports and materials related to the site assessments that EPA conducted on a subset of these units and seeks public comment. |
10/12/2011 |
EPA publishes a notice of data availability on additional information regarding the June 21, 2010 disposal of coal combustion residuals from electric utilities proposed rule. | This notice announced and invited comments on additional information in conjunction with the June 21, 2010 proposed rule including chemical constituent and facility and waste management unit data, information on additional alleged damage cases, adequacy of state programs; and beneficial use. |
08/02/2013 | EPA publishes a notice of data availability on Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals from Electric Utilities. | This notice requests comment on additional data in conjunction with the June 21, 2010 proposed rule to supplement the Regulatory Impact Analysis and risk assessment; information on large scale fill; and data on the surface impoundment structural integrity assessments. |
12/19/2014 | EPA signs the final rule on disposal of coal combustion residuals from electric. | EPA finalized national regulations providing a comprehensive set of requirements for the disposal of coal combustion residuals as solid waste under subtitle D of RCRA. |
04/17/2015 | The final rule on disposal of coal combustion residuals from electric utilities was published in the Federal Register. | |
07/02/2015 | EPA published a final rule correcting the effective date of the disposal of coal combustion residuals final rule to October 19, 2015. | |
08/05/2016 | EPA published a direct final rule and a companion proposal to extend for certain inactive CCR surface impoundments the compliance deadlines established by the regulations for the disposal of CCR. | |
03/15/2018 | EPA proposes several amendments to the CCR regulations (known as Phase One). |
The proposal:
EPA is proposing six provisions that would allow states or EPA the ability to incorporate flexibilities into their coal ash permit programs. These flexibilities would also be available to facilities with U.S. EPA-issued CCR permits. Additionally, the proposal:
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07/30/2018 | EPA finalized certain revisions to the 2015 regulations for the disposal of CCR in landfills and surface impoundments known as Phase One Part One. |
Changes included:
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08/14/2019 |
EPA proposed changes to enhance public access to information and for reconsideration of the beneficial use criteria and piles. |
The following changes were proposed:
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12/02/2019 |
On August 21, 2018, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals issued its opinion in the case of Utility Solid Waste Activities Group, et al. v. EPA (USWAG). This action proposes regulations to implement the court's vacatur of the provisions that allow unlined impoundments to continue receiving coal ash unless they leak, and that classify “clay-lined” impoundments as lined, thereby allowing such units to operate indefinitely. In addition, EPA also proposed to establish a revised date by which unlined surface impoundments must cease receiving waste and initiate closure, following its reconsideration of those dates in light of the USWAG decision. |
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02/20/2020 |
EPA proposed a streamlined, efficient, federal permitting program for the disposal of CCR in surface impoundments and landfills, which will also include electronic permitting. EPA has used the lessons learned from many years of implementing hazardous waste and other permitting programs to design an efficient, federal CCR permitting process. This proposal includes requirements for federal CCR permit applications, content and modification, as well as procedural requirements. EPA would implement this permit program directly in Indian Country, as it does other Resource Conservation and Recovery Act programs, and at CCR units located in states that have not submitted their own CCR permit program for approval. |
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03/03/2020 | EPA proposed a number of revisions and flexibilities to the CCR regulations, the last in a set of four planned actions to implement the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act, respond to petitions, address litigation and apply lessons learned to ensure smoother implementation of the regulations. |
Specifically, EPA is proposing the following revisions:
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08/28/2020 | EPA finalized certain revisions to the closure regulations for the disposal of CCR in landfills and surface impoundments known as Part A as well as provisions that enhance public access to information. |
Changes included:
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10/14/2020 |
EPA requested comments in an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking and data on inactive surface impoundments at inactive facilities to assist in the development of future regulations for these CCR units. |
EPA sought comments and data on inactive surface impoundments at inactive electric utilities, referred to as "legacy CCR surface impoundments" or "legacy units", to assist in the development of future regulations for these coal combustion residuals units. This action is in response to the August 21, 2018 opinion by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (Utility Solid Waste Activities Group, et al v. EPA) that vacated and remanded the provision that exempted inactive impoundments at inactive facilities from the April 17, 2015 CCR rule. EPA requested input on a potential definition of a legacy CCR surface impoundment and is specifically soliciting information on the types of inactive surface impoundments at inactive facilities that might be considered legacy surface impoundments. Specifically, EPA requested information on:
Finally, the Agency took comment on EPA's regulatory authority, the appropriate regulatory approach for these units and the timeframes to come into compliance with those regulations. |
11/12/2020 |
EPA finalized procedures to allow a limited number of facilities to demonstrate to EPA or a Participating State Director that, based on groundwater data and the design of a particular surface impoundment, the unit has and will continue to ensure there is no reasonable probability of adverse effects to human health and the environment. Therefore, these CCR surface impoundments should be allowed to continue to operate. |
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12/22/2020 |
EPA announced the availability of new information and data pertaining to the agency's August 14, 2019 proposed rule Federal Register publication. EPA requested public comment on whether this additional information may inform the Agency's reconsideration of the beneficial use definition and provisions for coal combustion residuals accumulations. Moreover, the Agency accepted additional information and data from the public that may further help inform the Agency's reconsideration of these two issues. |
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5/18/2023 |
EPA proposed changes to the CCR regulations for inactive surface impoundments at inactive electric utilities, referred to as "legacy CCR surface impoundments". The proposed requirements largely mirror those put into place through regulation in 2015 for inactive impoundments at active facilities. This notice is in response to the August 21, 2018, court decision that vacated and remanded the provision of the 2015 CCR rule that exempted inactive impoundments at inactive electric utilities. In addition, through implementation of the 2015 CCR rule, EPA found areas at regulated CCR facilities where CCR was disposed of or managed on land outside of regulated units at CCR facilities, referred to as "CCR management units." So, EPA is also proposing to extend a subset of requirements in the CCR regulations to these CCR management units. |
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11/14/2023 | EPA published a notice of data availability related to this proposed rule. EPA made available new information and data pertaining to the Agency’s May 18, 2023 proposed changes about legacy CCR surface impoundments and CCR management units. | |
5/8/2024 |
EPA finalized changes to the CCR regulations for inactive surface impoundments at inactive electric utilities, referred to as "legacy CCR surface impoundments." In addition, through implementation of the 2015 CCR rule, EPA found concerns with areas at regulated CCR facilities where CCR was disposed of or managed on land outside of regulated units at CCR facilities, referred to as “CCR management units” or “CCRMU.” To address the impacts of these units on human health and the environment, EPA also finalized a subset of requirements for these units. |