The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday proposed weakened rules governing the safe disposal of ash produced by burning coal. Those regulations were strengthened under the Biden administration as part of a wider crackdown on pollution from coal-fired power plants.
The Trump administration proposed easing standards for monitoring and protecting groundwater near some coal ash sites, rolling back rules forcing the cleanup of entire coal properties instead of just places where ash was dumped. The revisions would also make it easier to reuse coal ash for other purposes.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the proposal reflects the agency's "commitment to restoring American energy dominance, strengthening cooperative federalism, and accommodating unique circumstances at certain (coal ash) facilities.”
