Energy & Environment
Caution Urged on Coal Ash Rules
Potential federal regulation of coal ash as hazardous waste would lead to higher electric bills and could handcuff some sectors of the economy, an Illinois G&T official told a House subcommittee.
Holding up recycled drywall, Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., says pending rules could endanger its production, as Rep. Gene Green, D-Texas, looks on. (Photo By: Steven Johnson)
At a Feb. 16 hearing, Leonard E. Hopkins, fuel and compliance manager at Southern Illinois Power Cooperative, said an option proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency could add a minimum of $11 million a year to the G&T members’ costs.
Hopkins also cautioned that a hazardous substance designation would cause customers to shun products like drywall, cement and roof shingle sand produced from recycled coal combustion residuals from plants at Southern Illinois Power and other utilities.
“The coal combustion residuals regulation being proposed by EPA poses a serious threat to the economic survival of the cooperative for which I work,” he told the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy.
“The barriers to compliance with such an action could conceivably drive coal-fired generators like Southern Illinois Power totally out of business.”
The subcommittee was looking at the effects of environmental regulations on jobs and the economy. The coal ash rule has attracted significant opposition since EPA first aired it last year.
The agency has proposed two ways of dealing with coal ash in the wake of a massive December 2008 spill at a Tennessee Valley Authority plant near Kingston, Tenn.
One would classify coal combustion residuals as hazardous substances, subjecting them for the first time to federal requirements for hazardous waste management and disposal.
The other option does not include a hazardous waste designation, and would give EPA authority to set minimum standards for storage and disposal. A decision could come later this year.
Hopkins said the second option is much more preferable. The Marion, Ill.-based G&T has been using coal combustion byproducts for beneficial purposes for more than 20 years, he said.
If those products are removed from the marketplace, plant operators will have to ship coal ash to hazardous waste landfills, which in turn could fill up within just a couple of years because of the sheer volume of new shipments.
“What we need is reasonable regulation. We don’t need to go overboard and cause products like coal ash to become hazardous waste so they can’t be recycled,” Hopkins said.
Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., the subcommittee chairman, said EPA should be considering the effect on jobs and small businesses like Southern Illinois Power when it considers regulations like the coal ash rule.
“Unfortunately, the proposed coal combustion residual regulations may put their ability to serve over 250,000 customers in rural Illinois in jeopardy,” said Shimkus, whose district includes some areas served by Southern Illinois Power.
Added Rep. Gene Green, D-Texas, the ranking subcommittee Democrat: “The chairman and I will work on both sides and see if we can do some problem-solving.”
Tags: Coal Ash, Energy and Environment, Environmental Protection Agency