Ken Ward reports that Gov. Joe Manchin has urged EPA not to regulate coal ash as hazardous waste. Coal ash is not hazardous in the way that environmental professionals think about hazardous substances or hazardous wastes. It is used for structural fills and as an additive in concrete, and can be safely stored in impoundments.
The situation that focused attention on coal ash was the spill that occurred from a TVA impoundment in December of 2008. The primary problems caused by that spill were the mess caused by the ash, not any particular toxicity it exhibits. Better regulation of impoundments might be called for, but a hazardous waste designation would only increase our electricity bills (much higher disposal costs, little beneficial reuse) without increasing our environmental health.
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