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Wheeling Intelligencer: Congress Should Set Coal Ash Rules
01/05/15Environmental Protection Agency officials have backed away from a plan to regulate coal ash as a hazardous material. But the agency's action leaves too many questions unanswered and could leave the door open to problems in the future.
Had the EPA proceeded with its original plan - an absurd proposal in view of the science on coal ash - as many as 316,000 Americans could have lost their jobs, U.S. Rep. David McKinley, R-W.Va., estimates. McKinley led the successful fight against the agency's hazardous waste strategy.
Coal ash is produced in enormous quantities, as a byproduct of burning coal in facilities such as power plants. It has been used for many years as a material to produce concrete, drywall and bricks, among other products.
But the EPA's decision not to pursue the hazardous waste designation does not mean the issue is resolved, McKinley and U.S. Sen.-elect Shelley Capito, R-W.Va., point out.