Upton Fights EPA‘s Misguided Coal Ash Rule that Could Cost Billions and Eliminate Thousands of Jobs
Agency concluded in 2000 that coal combustion residuals did not warrant reclassification as hazardous material
Washington, DC,
Nov 22 -
Congressman Fred Upton (R-MI), senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, is urging the Environmental Protection Agency to stand down in its efforts to regulate coal combustion residuals (CCRs). Upton pointed out that EPA already concluded in its final 2000 regulatory determination that CCRs do not warrant regulation under RCRA’s hazardous waste program and there is not a technical or legal basis for reversing that final decision.
Currently, approximately 44 percent of CCRs are recycled for beneficial use - widely used in concrete, shingles, asphalt, wall boards and bricks - equating to more than $2 billion in economic activity. The recycling community has repeatedly cautioned EPA that regulating CCRs as hazardous waste in any manner – even with a stated “exemption” for beneficial use - will severely stunt the growth of the fledgling green jobs CCR recycling industry due to the legal exposure, product liability and public perceptions associated with attempting to recycle a material classified as a hazardous waste.
In a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, Upton wrote, "The collapse of the CCR beneficial use market – which would occur as the sole result of EPA’s action – will result in the loss of thousands of small business jobs and needlessly forfeit the significant environmental and economic benefits associated with the beneficial use of CCRs. This cannot be allowed to occur, especially when there is no technical basis for regulating CCRs under RCRA’s hazardous waste regulations and the economy is struggling to rebound from the worst recession in a generation with millions of Americans out of work."
Upton continued, "I am additionally concerned with the enormous costs which would be imposed on electric utilities, and ultimately by electricity consumers, as result of Subtitle C regulation. I understand that Subtitle C compliance costs for the utility industry would, at the minimum, be in the range of approximately $55.3 billion to $74.5 billion, and likely much higher. There is absolutely no basis for imposing these costs on our power sector when the Agency has concluded in two previous Reports to Congress and two final regulatory determinations that CCRs do not warrant hazardous waste regulation and that CCRs can be safely managed at much lower costs under RCRA’s Subtitle D non-hazardous waste program."
Upton also questioned if the EPA possessed the authority to move forward with the proposed rulemaking, "Finally, I am particularly troubled by EPA’s assumption that it has the authority to independently reverse its previous final regulatory determinations for CCRs that were completed under the well defined procedures of the Bevill Amendment. Congress did not provide EPA with this type of unilateral authority... EPA cannot simply reverse course on that final decision; to do so, would render meaningless the statutorily prescribed procedures Congress specifically required EPA to follow in determining whether CCRs warrant regulation under RCRA Subtitle C."
A copy of Upton's letter can be found HERE.
