The Utility industry has dealt with their coal ash dilemma at a snail’s pace for almost 15 years now. Although it is easy to blame the pace on the monopolistic tendencies of the Utility companies, environmental groups and regulatory agencies are just as much part of the bottleneck. – It takes two to tango! [...]
Unlike the lyrics of a famous Rolling Stones song; “Time is on my side, yes, it is”, in the environmental world folks don’t have time when it comes to landfill expansions. Sure landfill expansions may not be required for seven to ten years down the road for instance; however planning should always be front [...]
Since January 2022, the EPA has issued several decisions related to coal ash, signaling it is finally taking the 2015 rules seriously. Among other actions, the EPA has ordered companies to stop placing ash in unlined ponds since keeping coal ash in unlined storage has long been the threat to drinking water. VertiCell™ construction method [...]
Working in the Waste Management industry can be very lonely at times. Despite recycling efforts, “green” initiatives, and organic waste diversions (composting); mankind will always generate solid waste and those charged with its stewardship are going to be criticized, whether they are doing a good job or not. Since the industry is a “quasi” [...]
HERE THEY COME. the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently rejected requests from energy facilities to dump coal ash, a byproduct of coal-fired power plants, into unlined surface impoundments. This new call for action exposes a simple truth, a reset is needed for all Stakeholders, not just Utilities It is not just the Utilities that [...]
Waste management refers to the various schemes to manage and dispose of wastes. It can be by discarding, destroying, processing, recycling, reusing, or controlling wastes. The prime objective of waste management is to reduce the amount of unusable materials and to avert potential health and environmental hazards. As simple as that explanation sounds let’s [...]
The main issue with coal ash across the country is proper storage. With decades of improper storage and a limited regulatory timeline to correct, Utilities are left trying to figure out how to properly store millions of tons of coal ash to allow for future beneficiation. Good news! The tools have already been developed: [...]
Despite recycling and Zero Waste initiatives across the county, the volume of waste generated hasn’t decreased to the point where we see reduced demand on airspace or an offset in the growing costs of proper disposal. So WASTE and LANDFILLS are a certainly for the foreseeable future. Zero Waste initiatives – where, ideally, 100% [...]
Although many environmental organizations state or are under the impression that they are utilizing Best Use Practices, but in reality, they are not. The debate over landfills and landfill expansions has gone on for decades and will continue well into the future. The opponents argue that landfills are unsafe, unhealthy and a public nuisance [...]
Improper labels can hamper the best solutions and could force Utilities into a Micro approach to a Macro problem. In public debate over the best disposition of legacy coal ash (CCR), the phrase “unencapsulated beneficial use” is used. However, “unencapsulated” solutions, such as mixing loose CCR into soil or spreading large quantities as fill [...]
