Poll: Coal ash ponds regulations

Federal government wants to have stricter rules for coal ash ponds. The regulations would require most of the nation’s approximately 500 unlined coal ash surface impoundments to stop receiving waste and begin closing them. The ash ponds are laced with contaminants like mercury, cadmium and arsenic, and regularly pollute groundwater and send particulate air pollution into nearby communities. They were a major focus of the January enforcement announcement.

  • Yes
  • Maybe
  • No
  • I do not know

0 voters

I don’t see a question.

12 Likes

Should these regulations be implemented?

jaagu,

I worked at a coal fired power plant for about 25 years. We had both fly ash and bottom ash going into our pond for years before a company started catching the fly ash to use in concrete.

What puzzled me was that when the slurry pipe going out to the pond would spring a leak, all ash removel systems would have to be shut down and isolated and repairs made to the leak before any ash removel could resume. This was to keep the leakage from the slurry pipe from eventually getting into the river. But then the ash pond would be dredged and the bottom ash piled up in huge piles for dump trucks to take to be used for road cinders in the winter time. How does that make any sense?

Gup

4 Likes

Soluble metals should be leached out of the ash pits fairly quickly. Old ash pits are not likely a concern.

Why regulate insoluble trace metals? They are natural and have been around for eons. Not a problem unless dissolved.

Pits with fresh ash or soluble heavy metals should be lined and overflow water (usually from rainfall) should be treated before discharge.

One size does not fit all.

Use as concrete aggregate is excellent. Recall that concrete blocks were once known as cinder blocks. Cinders are a light weight aggregate that helps keep weight down.

3 Likes

North Carolina has already cracked down on coal ash ponds after there was a major spill into the Dan River some years ago. The crackdown led directly to the closure of my local coal plant, as it had two coal ash ponds by the plant in the hills above the French Broad river and so was targeted for fairly rapid closure and clean-up of the ponds due to the risk of a major spill into the river.

As opposed to paying the expense to both close and clean up the the existing ponds and then open new upgraded ponds and find ways to deal with it into the indefinite future, Duke Power decided to shut down the coal plant so that once the ponds were cleaned up, there would be no more issue going forward. They’ve built two advanced combined cycle gas turbine plants on site to replace the coal power on the grid, with both a big upgrade in max power output capacity and a big reduction in air pollution.

Win/win/win.

One of the ponds is already shut down and cleaned up, the other will be soon. Most of the ash is going to a landfill, some for use in concrete. After it’s cleaned up and filled in, Duke is going to install a field of solar panels on that site. The solar power output will be fairly inconsequential compared to the gas plant, but every little bit helps.

4 Likes

One size does not fit all.

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The regulations have many sizes to fit all. The problem is that some lazy greedy people think regulations are not needed.

Jaak

I don’t see a question.

That, and no “pants” option.

1 Like

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/23042022/coal-ash-rules/

Two of the nation’s grid operators are warning the Environmental Protection Agency that enforcement of coal ash regulations poses risks to the reliability of electrical service over a large part of the country.

The grid operators’ comments could play into a lawsuit filed earlier this month by an organization representing electric utilities against the Biden administration over its decision in January to begin enforcing those same coal ash regulations. The regulations were adopted by the Obama administration in 2015 after decades of pressure from environmental groups and resistance from the industry over the best way to manage one of the nation’s largest industrial waste streams.

The Trump administration had allowed utilities to request compliance delays, but in January, the EPA said it was taking action on the first nine of 57 extension applications filed, denying three, approving one, finding four incomplete and ruling one ineligible.

Then, on April 8, electric utilities struck back with a petition in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from the Utility Solid Waste Activities Group, which includes many of the nation’s electricity utilities.

The EPA did not issue any new regulations in January; rather, it began enforcing the 2015 rules.

“Coal ash surface impoundments and landfills must operate and close in a manner that protects public health and the environment,” EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said when announcing the coal ash enforcement actions in January. He said the agency would “protect communities and hold facilities accountable.”

Jaak

I don’t see a question.

That, and no “pants” option.

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I always have my pants on in public.

1 Like