Improving Coal Combustion Residuals Regulation Act of 2015

Improving Coal Combustion Residuals Regulation Act of 2015

This bill amends the nonhazardous waste provisions of subtitle D of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (commonly known as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) to establish a federal permit program for coal combustion residuals (coal ash) that states may elect to administer. The program outlines the criteria that a state must use if it chooses to adopt and enforce a permit program regulating the management and disposal of coal ash generated by electric utilities and independent power producers. The program applies to the disposal of coal ash into: (1) landfills or surface impoundments, (2) sand or gravel pits, (3) quarries, or (4) lateral expansions of the previously mentioned structures.

A state that chooses to adopt a coal ash program is given sole enforcement authority. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must implement a program for a state if: (1) a state's program fails to meet those criteria, or (2) a state does not implement a program. A coal ash permit program implemented by the EPA may not apply to the utilization, placement, and storage of coal ash at surface or underground coal mining and reclamation operations.

The bill revises the EPA rule governing the disposal of coal ash, entitled "Hazardous and Solid Waste Management System; Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals from Electric Utilities." The rule may be implemented only through the permit program established by the bill. When the requirements of the bill and the rule conflict, the requirements of the bill must be followed.

Under the program, the implementing agency must use baseline criteria, including criteria with respect to coal ash for:

• structures' design, location, and structural integrity;
• groundwater and surface water protections;
• structures closing; and
• air quality with respect to fugitive dust.

The agency implementing the permit program must ensure that certain information concerning the program is publicly available.