White House and EPA at odds over coal ash rules

The debate over the Environmental Protection Agency's new regulations for the disposal of coal ash is at the heart of an unusual dispute between the White House and EPA. The Obama administration has already backed several new environmental regulations that have angered the coal industry, Neil King Jr. and Rebecca Smith of The Wall Street Journal report, but some environmental groups say the White House's position on coal ash is evidence of the industry establishing a foothold in the administration.

White House records show administration regulatory czar Cass Sunstein has held nearly 20 meetings with industry groups since October to discuss the potential impact of proposed EPA rules to treat coal ash and other coal byproducts as hazardous waste, the reporters write. Watchdog groups told the reporters the involvement of the White House Office of Management and Budget, which Sunstein heads, at this early stage in the process is unusual. EPA has yet to publish its proposed regulations.

"Industry is trying to influence the process in a back-door fashion," Lisa Evans, a senior attorney for environmental organization Earthjustice, told the reporters. OMB spokesman Thomas Gavin disagreed, telling the reporters, "This has been a very regular, very normal deliberative process on a very complex rule." (Read more)