The new coal ash rules were announced in tandem with three other regulations designed to reduce pollution from power plants. While it could take years to see how the other three rules will ultimately play out and how utilities will respond, the coal ash cleanup in this country has shifted into a higher gear. EnCAP-IT [...]
R egulatory certainty is here, at least for Legacy CCR Surface Impoundments or CCR Management Units. The EPA has defined “Legacy CCR Surface Impoundment”, the term “liquids”, the distinction “contains both CCR and liquids” and a “CCR Management Unit” to close loopholes and confusion, providing regulatory certainty. NOW is the time for facility owners to [...]
T he energy industry is steadily evolving beyond fossil fuels and shifting to more renewable and sustainable sources. This is fantastic news for the planet, but before this transformation can be complete, we must address the fossil fuel legacy of nearly 2 billion tons of coal ash stored in inefficient and environmentally perilous ways [...]
I n all discussions of coal ash disposition — either through beneficial reuse or keeping it intact but contained — the overriding concern is safety. The cap-in-place solution has been solidly debunked from a safety standpoint. The market for beneficiation of coal ash in building products still lags far behind the over-abundance of legacy CCR. [...]
Based on the wide-spread reaction of our last post, we thought that is would be good to further explain “the choices” that could be available to all stakeholders (utilities, EPA, politicians, state regulators, environmental groups, and local communities) dealing with excavated legacy coal ash. Before any choices are revealed, all the stakeholders must decide [...]
Despite years of controversy …. All stakeholders (utilities, EPA, politicians, state regulators, environmental groups, and local communities) will have to decide on “dig it up” or “cover it up” as a middle-path solution. When that happens, the stakeholders will have to make choices as for the methods to deploy. In all these discussions of [...]
Are you tired of hearing about coal ash yet? Is it harmful, is it in groundwater or not, is it going to be excavated, are the states protecting its citizens, and how much is it really going to cost are all common coal ash discussion points. Who could blame you if you are tired [...]
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is revisiting its 2015 rule that regulated the disposal of toxic waste from coal-fired power plants. 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. When the dust settles, [...]
It’s going to happen. All stakeholders, utilities, environmental groups, regulators, citizens, and governments will decide on some compromise over the closure of coal ash basins with ground water impacts. Taking the “middle path” between the two extreme stances; Cap-In-Place by the utilities and Excavate-Haul by the environmental groups results in on-site storage. This could [...]
Today’s modern landfills are highly engineered systems that are subject to a tremendous number of regulations. First and foremost safety is paramount to a successful design. However, a balance is made between safety and practicality. It is the ugly truth; landfill design safety is sometimes curbed by space and economics. Here at EnCAP-IT we bring [...]
