Geosynthetics world hails new coal-ash regulations

May 7, 2010 | By Ron Bygness and Andrew Aho

The Environmental Protection Agency's May 4 announcement included this paragraph:

Today' s action will ensure for the first time that protective controls, such as liners and groundwater monitoring, are in place at new landfills to protect groundwater and human health. Existing surface impoundments will also require liners, with strong incentives to close the impoundments and transition to safer landfills, which store coal ash in dry form. The proposed regulations will ensure stronger oversight of the structural integrity of impoundments in order to prevent accidents like the one at Kingston, Tennessee. Today's action also will promote environmentally safe and desirable forms of recycling coal ash, known as beneficial uses.

In a message to members of the Geosynthetic Materials Association, managing director Andrew Aho wrote:

We are extremely pleased that the U.S. EPA has announced that it is issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking that will require lining of coal ash containment sites. As you know, GMA has been advocating for such a regulation through our government relations program. We successfully lobbied Members of Congress in sending a letter to the EPA mandating lining of coal ash sites and we have been assisting in the development of legislation that would require geosynthetic lining of these sites. When adopted, these new regulations will have a tremendous impact on the geosynthetic materials market in the U.S.

For more information:

The press release from EPA can be found at http://geosyntheticsmagazine.com/articles/050410.html

More information about the proposed regulation: http://www.epa.gov/coalashrule

To view the chart comparing the two approaches: http://www.epa.gov/coalashrule/ccr-table.htm

To view results of the impoundment assessments: http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/industrial/special/fossil/surveys2/index.htm

Ron Bygness is the editor of Geosynthetics magazine. Andrew Aho is the managing director of the Geosynthetic Materials Association (GMA).

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