Legislative and Regulatory Timeline for Fossil Fuel Combustion Wastes
This timeline walks through the history of fossil fuel combustion waste regulation since 1976 and includes information such as regulations, proposals, notices, amendments, reports and meetings and site visits conducted.
| Date(s) | Action or Event | Notes on Significance to Fossil Fuel Combustion Wastes |
|---|---|---|
|
10/21/1976 |
Enactment of Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) | |
|
12/18/1978 |
EPA proposes first set of hazardous waste management standards | Wastes from the combustion of fossil fuels are proposed to be designated as one of the six “special wastes”, which are exempt from RCRA Subtitle C regulations |
|
10/12/1980 |
Solid Waste Disposal Act Amendments enacted | Bevill amendment added: temporarily exempts three special wastes from hazardous waste regulation until further study is completed |
|
11/19/1980 |
EPA promulgates interim final amendments to the hazardous waste regulations |
Includes an exclusion for fossil fuel combustion wastes from the definition of hazardous waste |
|
10/31/1982 |
EPA misses the statutory deadline for submitting fossil fuel combustion waste report to Congress | |
|
02/1988 |
EPA submits “Report to Congress on Wastes from the Combustion of Coal by Electric Utility Power Plants” | Report only addressed wastes generated from combustion of coal by electric utility power plants and not co-managed utility coal combustion wastes, other fossil fuel combustion wastes, and wastes from non-utility boilers |
|
08/31/1988 |
EPA misses the statutory deadline for making a regulatory determination on the wastes described in February 1988 report |
|
|
06/1991 |
The Bull Run Coalition in Oregon files a suit against EPA for failure to complete the regulatory determinations on the 1988 report on the wastes studied and not studied |
|
|
06/30/1992 |
EPA enters into a consent decree that establishes a schedule to complete all regulatory determinations |
The EPA divides fossil fuel combustion wastes into two categories: (1) fly ash, bottom ash, boiler slag, and flue gas emission control waste from coal burning utilities, and (2) all the remaining wastes identified |
|
08/09/1993 |
EPA publishes “Part 1 Regulatory Determination” for large-volume utility coal combustion wastes |
EPA determines that fly ash, bottom ash, boiler slag, and flue gas emission control dust from coal burning utilities do not apply to Subtitle C and are excluded from the definition of hazardous waste under RCRA |
|
03/31/1999 |
A “Report to Congress on Wastes from the Combustion of Fossil Fuels ” was submitted by the EPA |
This report addressed the remaining wastes not addressed in the 1988 report |
|
05/22/2000 |
EPA publishes a “Regulatory Determination on Wastes from the Combustion of Fossil Fuels” in the Federal Register |
EPA concludes that national non-hazardous waste regulations under Subtitle D are needed for coal combustion wastes disposed of in landfills and surface impoundments and used as minefill. EPA retains the hazardous waste exemption for the remaining wastes. EPA also determines that beneficial uses of these wastes pose no significant risk (other than for minefilling) and no additional national regulation is needed. |
| 05/2001-10/2002 |
The Interstate Mining Compact Commission conducts four Mine Placement of Coal Combustion Waste Meetings |
The purpose of these meetings was to collect and analyze technical and regulatory information related to minefilling of coal combustion waste |
| 09/2001-10/2002 | EPA conducts site visits to collect information regarding the regulation of coal combustion waste minefill management practices | |
| 05/19 - 05/20/2003 | EPA holds a stakeholders meeting on Minefill Practices for Coal Combustion Residue | |
| 03/23-05/05/2004 | EPA holds four public meetings to learn more about the use and disposal of coal combustion byproducts | |
| 03/01/2006 | The National Academy of Sciences issues a report Exiton the placement of coal combustion wastes in coal mines | EPA is working with the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) as they amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act regulations |
| 03/14/2007 | OSMRE publishes an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking about the placement of coal combustion byproducts in active and abandoned coal mines | |
| 08/29/2007 | EPA publishes a notice of data availability on the disposal of coal combustion waste in landfills and surface impoundments. | |
| 03/09/2009 | EPA began mailing information request letters to electric utilities and corporations that have surface impoundments or similar units that contain coal combustion residuals. | These letters requested information to assist EPA in evaluating the structural integrity of these management units. |
| 06/21/2010 | For the first time, EPA proposes to regulate the disposal of coal combustion residuals from electric utilities | EPA proposes two possible options for the disposal of coal combustion residuals to address the risks from the combustion of coal at electric utilities and independent power producers. |
| 08/20/2010 | EPA publishes a proposed rule making several administrative corrections to the June 21, 2010 proposal, extending the comment period, and announcing additional public hearings. | |
| 10/21/2010 | EPA publishes a notice of data availability on coal combustion residual surface impoundments. | This notice announces the availability of responses to information requests that EPA sent to electric utilities on their coal combustion residual surface impoundments as well as reports and materials related to the site assessments that EPA conducted on a subset of these units and seeks public comment. |
|
10/12/2011 |
EPA publishes a notice of data availability on additional information regarding the June 21, 2010 disposal of coal combustion residuals from electric utilities proposed rule. | This notice announced and invited comments on additional information in conjunction with the June 21, 2010 proposed rule including chemical constituent and facility and waste management unit data, information on additional alleged damage cases, adequacy of state programs; and beneficial use. |
| 08/02/2013 | EPA publishes a notice of data availability on Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals from Electric Utilities | This notice requests comment on additional data in conjunction with the June 21, 2010 proposed rule to supplement the Regulatory Impact Analysis and risk assessment; information on large scale fill; and data on the surface impoundment structural integrity assessments. |
| 12/19/2014 | EPA signs the final rule on disposal of coal combustion residuals from electric. | EPA finalized national regulations providing a comprehensive set of requirements for the disposal of coal combustion residuals as solid waste under subtitle D of RCRA. |
| 04/17/2015 | The final rule on disposal of coal combustion residuals from electric utilities was published in the Federal Register | |
| 07/02/2015 | EPA published a final rule correcting the effective date of the disposal of coal combustion residuals final rule to October 19, 2015. |