The Environmental Protection Agency recently issued its proposed rule to amend the Hazardous Solid Waste Management System: Disposal for Coal Combustion Residuals from Electric Generating Units: Legacy/ CCRMU.
EPA is proposing the following changes:
• Add a closure certification option for legacy CCR surface impoundments closed by CCR removal, if closure was completed before November 8, 2024, under regulatory oversight.
• Revise or eliminate three eligibility criteria for facilities with legacy surface impoundments closed before November 8, 2024, to qualify for the deferral from CCR unit closure standards pending site-specific permitting decisions.
• Exclude certain CCR dewatering structures from 40 CFR Part 257 when they are primarily used to dewater CCR for disposal elsewhere.
• Remove CCR management unit requirements and solicit comment on alternative approaches, including potential revisions to the existing CCR management unit regulations.
The proposal would also create an alternative compliance pathway for CCR units operating under federal or approved-state CCR permits for groundwater monitoring, corrective action, and closure.
Under this pathway, permit authorities could make site-specific determinations on (1) the groundwater monitoring point of compliance, (2) cleanup levels for constituents without a federal maximum contaminant level, and (3) whether certain closure requirements are appropriate—while still requiring owners/operators to ensure the unit poses no reasonable probability of adverse effects to human health and the environment.
In addition, EPA proposes to revise the definition of “beneficial use” by removing the requirement for an environmental demonstration for non-roadway placement of more than 12,400 tons of unencapsulated CCR on land. The proposal would also define “CCR storage pile” and “temporary accumulation,” and would exclude the following beneficial uses from federal CCR regulations:
• CCR used in cement manufacturing at cement kilns.
• Flue gas desulfurization gypsum used in agriculture.
• FGD gypsum used in wallboard.
Although EPA did not consider costs in establishing the proposed rule, its regulatory impact analysis estimates net annual savings of up to $260 million, even after accounting for modest reductions in estimated benefits.
The proposal was published in the Federal Register on April 13, 2026. Public comments will be due June 12, 2026.
APPA said it plans to prepare a summary and draft comments in response to the proposal.
EPA also plans to host public webinars on April 15 from 2:00 -2:45 pm ET and April 16 from 11-11:45 am ET. Please visit the EPA’s website for more details on registering for the webinars. EPA will host its virtual public hearing on May 28, 2026, from 9:00 am- 6:00 pm ET
EPA also notes that, in a future separate action, it will reopen the public comment period for the proposed Federal CCR permit program rule, Hazardous and Solid Waste Management System: Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals From Electric Utilities; Federal CCR Permit Program (85 FR 9940), for 30 days.
