Legislative and Regulatory Timeline for Fossil Fuel Combustion Wastes

The proposal:

1. Addresses provisions of the final rule that were remanded back to the Agency on June 14, 2016 by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit;
2. Provides states with approved CCR permit programs (or EPA where it is the permitting authority) under the WIIN Act the ability to set certain alternative performance standards; and
3. Addresses one additional issue that has arisen since the April 2015 publication of the final rule. 

EPA is proposing six provisions that would allow states or EPA the ability to incorporate flexibilities into their coal ash permit programs. These flexibilities would also be available to facilities with U.S. EPA-issued CCR permits.

Additionally, the proposal:

• Clarifies the type and magnitude of non-groundwater releases that would require a facility to comply with some or all of the corrective action procedures set forth in 40 CFR sections 257.96 through 257.98 in meeting their obligation to clean up the release.
• Adds boron to the list of constituents in Appendix IV of 40 CFR part 257 that trigger corrective action.
• Determines the requirement for proper height of woody and grassy vegetation for slope protection.
• Revises the current regulations to allow the use of CCR in the construction of final cover systems for CCR units closing pursuant to 40 CFR section 257.101 that are closing with waste-in-place.
• Adds a new paragraph to 40 CFR section 257.103 to allow facilities to qualify for the alternative closure provisions based on the continued need to manage non-CCR wastestreams in the unit. 

Changes included:

• Adopting two alternative performance standards that either Participating State Directors in states with approved CCR permit programs (participating states) or EPA where EPA is the permitting authority may apply to owners and operators of CCR units.
• Revising groundwater protection standards (GWPS) for four constituents which do not have an established Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL).
• Extending the deadline by which facilities must cease the placement of waste in CCR units closing for cause in two situations: where the facility has detected a statistically significant increase above a GWPS from an unlined surface impoundment; and where the unit is unable to comply with the aquifer location restriction.

The following changes were proposed:

• Replacing the 12,400-ton threshold that triggers an environmental demonstration with specific location-based criteria (e.g., placement in an unstable area, wetland, floodplain or seismic zone) derived from existing criteria for CCR disposal units.
• Establishing a single approach which would apply to all temporary placement of unencapsulated CCR on the land, regardless of whether the pile is on-site or off-site, or destined for beneficial use or disposal.
• Revising the annual groundwater monitoring and corrective action report requirements to make the data easier to understand and evaluate, including a requirement to summarize the results in an executive summary.
• Establishing an alternative groundwater protection standard for boron using the same methodology used for other CCR constituents, which would be finalized if boron is added to the list of constituents for assessment monitoring.
• Revising the CCR website requirements to ensure that relevant facility information required by the regulations is immediately available to the public.

EPA solicited comments and information related to the proposed provisions, alternative approaches to the proposed provisions and other considerations outlined in the notice.

Specifically, EPA is proposing the following revisions:

• Procedures to allow facilities to request approval to use an alternate liner for CCR surface impoundments;
• Two co-proposed options to allow the use of CCR during unit closure;
• An additional closure option for CCR units being closed by removal of CCR; and
• Requirements for annual closure progress reports.

Changes included:

• changes to implement the court’s vacatur of the provisions that allow unlined surface impoundments to continue receiving coal ash unless they leak, and that classify “clay-lined” surface impoundments as lined.
• establishment of a revised date of April 11, 2021 by which unlined surface impoundments and units that failed the aquifer location restriction must cease receiving waste and initiate closure or retrofit.
• revisions to the alternative closure provisions that would grant certain facilities additional time to develop alternative capacity to manage their waste streams (including additional waste - primarily non-CCR wastewater - generated at the facility) before they must stop receiving waste and initiate closure of their surface impoundments.
• amendments to the annual groundwater monitoring and corrective action report and the requirements for the publicly accessible internet sites that were proposed on August 14, 2019.

EPA sought comments and data on inactive surface impoundments at inactive electric utilities, referred to as "legacy CCR surface impoundments" or "legacy units", to assist in the development of future regulations for these coal combustion residuals units. This action is in response to the August 21, 2018 opinion by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (Utility Solid Waste Activities Group, et al v. EPA) that vacated and remanded the provision that exempted inactive impoundments at inactive facilities from the April 17, 2015 CCR rule.

EPA requested input on a potential definition of a legacy CCR surface impoundment and is specifically soliciting information on the types of inactive surface impoundments at inactive facilities that might be considered legacy surface impoundments. Specifically, EPA requested information on:

• the number of legacy units,
• their current status (i.e., capped, dry, closed according to state requirements, still holding water), and
• names and locations of former power plants that may have these units and when the plants closed.

Finally, the Agency took comment on EPA's regulatory authority, the appropriate regulatory approach for these units and the timeframes to come into compliance with those regulations.

Find the full regulatory history on our Legacy CCR Surface Impoundments and CCR Management Units final rule webpage.

EPA proposed changes to the CCR regulations for inactive surface impoundments at inactive electric utilities, referred to as "legacy CCR surface impoundments". The proposed requirements largely mirror those put into place through regulation in 2015 for inactive impoundments at active facilities. This notice is in response to the August 21, 2018, court decision that vacated and remanded the provision of the 2015 CCR rule that exempted inactive impoundments at inactive electric utilities.

In addition, through implementation of the 2015 CCR rule, EPA found areas at regulated CCR facilities where CCR was disposed of or managed on land outside of regulated units at CCR facilities, referred to as "CCR management units." So, EPA is also proposing to extend a subset of requirements in the CCR regulations to these CCR management units.

On November 8, 2024, EPA published a direct final rule and companion proposed rule to correct errors in the May 2024 Legacy CCR Surface Impoundments final rule. The changes reflected in the direct final rule and companion proposal are:

• Fixing an error that caused confusion regarding the November 8, 2024 effective date of the Legacy Final Rule.
• Correcting inadvertent deletions in existing 2015 regulatory text caused by incorrect amendatory instructions.

EPA did not receive adverse comments by December 9, 2024, so the direct final rule went into effect on February 6, 2025.

• Access the direct final rule.
• Access the companion proposal.

On January 16, 2025, EPA published a second direct final rule and companion proposed rule to correct errors and clarify several provisions in the May 2024 Legacy CCR Surface Impoundments final rule. The changes reflected in the direct final rule and companion proposal are:

• Fixing incorrect regulatory text citations and cross-references.
• Clarifying and adding provisions in the regulatory text to match what is clearly described in the preamble of the May 8 rule.
• Improving rule implementation by adding a new section consolidating compliance deadlines for CCRMU.

On March 14, 2025, EPA withdrew the direct final rule because we received adverse comment on it before the end of the comment period, March 17, 2025. The direct final rule would have gone into effect May 16, 2025. EPA still accepted public comments on the rule through March 17, 2025. EPA will respond to comments as part of any final action we take on the parallel proposed rule. As stated in the direct final rule and the parallel proposed rule, EPA will not institute a second comment period on this action. EPA is not reconsidering, proposing to reopen, or otherwise soliciting comment on any provisions of the Legacy CCR Surface Impoundments final rule or the CCR regulations.

• Access the direct final rule.
• Access the proposed rule. ​​​​​​
• Access the withdrawal of the direct final rule. 

On February 10, 2026, EPA published a final rule that provides additional time to meet facility evaluation requirements for identifying Coal Combustion Residual management units and to comply with groundwater monitoring provisions. Additionally, this rule makes conforming changes to the remaining CCRMU compliance deadlines. EPA designed these extensions and amendments to ensure that CCR facilities can effectively meet regulatory requirements. 

In this rule, EPA also finalized some of the amendments that were proposed in the January 16, 2025, proposed rule that fix incorrect regulatory text citations as well as clarify and add provisions in the regulatory text to match what is clearly described in the preamble.

• Read the final rule.