[Original] US New Regulations Strictly Control Fly Ash

   The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently issued the first regulation on the harmless treatment of fly ash in coal-fired power plants in the United States. The regulation establishes safeguards to protect the community from leakage of fly ash storage ponds and groundwater pollution and emissions from fly ash treatment projects.

   The regulations include:

   1. Ground fly ash storage ponds and landfills that do not meet engineering design and structural standards are closed and can no longer receive fly ash for disposal;

   2. Require regular inspections of the structural safety of fly ash storage ponds to reduce the risk of catastrophic failure;

   3. Limit the construction of new ground fly ash storage ponds and landfills, especially in sensitive areas such as wetlands and earthquake zones;

   4. Require monitoring, immediate pollution clean-up and closure of single-surface fly ash storage ponds that pollute groundwater to protect groundwater;

   5. Protect the community and adopt dust control to reduce the dust pollution of wind-blown fly ash;

   6. Restrict new construction and reasonably close ground fly ash storage ponds and landfills that no longer receive coal combustion residues.

   EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said: "This regulation is a tremendous step forward in protecting communities from leaks from fly ash storage ponds and improper management and disposal of fly ash."

   This regulation clarifies the technical requirements of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (the first solid waste management regulation in the United States) for ground fly ash storage ponds and landfills. Implementation of technical requirements requires reporting to the State and the community. For example, power plants need to disclose information on whether they are implementing technical requirements and transparency including recording, retention, and reporting requirements, as well as post specific information requirements for each facility on a publicly accessible website. The regulation also supports the recycling and utilization of fly ash.