Feds set standards to regulate coal ash

Knoxville News Sentinel ^ | 12/19/2014 | Michael Collins

[aimhigh]

Six years after a devastating coal ash spill in Roane County, the federal government is putting in place standards to regulate ash from coal-fired power plants as a nonhazardous material, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today.

The new rules, the first-ever federal regulations for the storage and disposal of coal ash, would require industries to install liners and put in place other safeguards for new and existing storage ponds.

Groundwater monitoring systems would have to be installed to detect pollutants, any existing contamination would have to be cleaned up immediately, and impoundments that are already polluting groundwater above health-safety standards would have to close

[Gay State Conservative]

The US is the Saudi Arabia of coal yet Obola has promised to bankrupt the industry.Just one more example of the contempt that he has for this once great nation.

[Hootowl99]

On its face, the article describes pretty much the same features common to any industrial landfill. If (repeat if) this is accurate then I have no problem with these engineering requirements as long as they conform to existing non-hazardous criteria used for design, operations and closure.

[Red Badger]

We used coal ash for garden fertilizer when I was a kid.............

[Michael.SF.]

Twelve years ago at Jacksonville Electric we installed a "dry stacking" system, which leaches no water into ground (though they did use liners as a belts and suspenders approach). Dry stacking mixing ash and water into a concrete like substance. The water evaporates and you have a solid material on which additional material can be stacked.

Such systems are in use in many European coal plants (Czech Republic and Hungary are two that pop to mind.

These systems are safe and economical.

PDF brochure here:

High Concentration Slurry Disposal Systems

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

***standards to regulate ash from coal-fired power plants as a nonhazardous material,***

Do they have different regulations for different types of coal ash? Wyoming low sulfur coal ash will harden up just like cement when it gets wet. Lignite ash does not. I don’t know about eastern coal ash.

So why would they need to regulate Wyoming coal ash?

[mrsmith]

Ditto.
Pending details it sounds reasonable.

[NonValueAdded]

Will they regulate haulin’ ash too? Oh, wait ...

[Svartalfiar]

We used coal ash for garden fertilizer when I was a kid.............

Hey, we do too! Every 3rd or 4th grilling session, the coal pan fills with ash so you took it over to the garden or the compost pile and dumped it in.

[Red Badger]

Looks like they could sell the stuff!
Here in Florida the soil is very acidic. Ash makes the perfect neutralizer.
And they could say it was a ‘GREEN’ way of getting rid of this waste product and be absolutely truthful about it!............