EPA issues the first federal coal ash disposal rule

The EPA published the Coal Combustion Residuals rule — the first federal standard for disposing of coal ash from power plants — requiring groundwater monitoring, structural integrity assessments of impoundments, and public disclosure of contamination data. The rule classified coal ash as nonhazardous solid waste, a compromise that limited EPA's enforcement power but set minimum standards at more than 1,400 ash storage sites nationwide. It was triggered by the 2008 Kingston, Tennessee spill that released 1.1 billion gallons of coal ash slurry.