The Environmental Protection Agency has been criticized for lax regulation under the Trump administration, but it recently told the Missouri Department of Natural Resources that the state's plan for disposing of toxic waste from coal-ash ponds isn't strong enough to protect the environment or the health of residents. Coal ash includes hazardous substances that could leach into groundwater or streams if not contained and disposed of correctly. Missouri is home to two major coal companies, Peabody Energy and Arch Coal.
EPA noted that several parts of the plan are weaker than the 2015 federal coal-ash rule. Some allow the state "to waive requirements for utility companies to clean up groundwater contamination or even monitor groundwater for toxic chemicals if they can show that it doesn’t affect drinking-water supplies or harm the environment," Eli Chen reports for NPR. "The state agency also could suspend requirements to monitor groundwater if the utility can demonstrate that the disposal site doesn’t pose a risk to human health or the environment."
Trey Davis, president of the Missouri Energy Development Association, argued that the state's proposed rule protects health and the environment as well as the federal rule, and said state regulations didn't have to match their federal counterparts, Chen reports.
"Researchers from the Washington University Interdisciplinary Environmental Law Clinic recently found excessive levels of arsenic, boron and other harmful chemicals near all ponds that are receiving coal ash waste," Chen reports. "The MDNR is taking feedback on its plan until March 28 and expects that the state regulations will be effective by the end of September."
EPA noted that several parts of the plan are weaker than the 2015 federal coal-ash rule. Some allow the state "to waive requirements for utility companies to clean up groundwater contamination or even monitor groundwater for toxic chemicals if they can show that it doesn’t affect drinking-water supplies or harm the environment," Eli Chen reports for NPR. "The state agency also could suspend requirements to monitor groundwater if the utility can demonstrate that the disposal site doesn’t pose a risk to human health or the environment."
Trey Davis, president of the Missouri Energy Development Association, argued that the state's proposed rule protects health and the environment as well as the federal rule, and said state regulations didn't have to match their federal counterparts, Chen reports.
"Researchers from the Washington University Interdisciplinary Environmental Law Clinic recently found excessive levels of arsenic, boron and other harmful chemicals near all ponds that are receiving coal ash waste," Chen reports. "The MDNR is taking feedback on its plan until March 28 and expects that the state regulations will be effective by the end of September."
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