"NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Trump administration will let some leaking or otherwise dangerous coal ash storage ponds stay in operation for years more and some unlined ponds stay open indefinitely under a rule change announced Friday.

The move by the Environmental Protection Agency is the administration’s latest rollback of environmental and public health regulations governing operators of coal-fired power plants, which are taking hits financially as cheaper natural gas, solar and wind power make dirtier-burning coal plants less competitive.

Friday’s move weakens an Obama-era rule in which the EPA regulated the storage and disposal of toxic coal ash for the first time, including closing coal-ash dumping ponds that were unstable or contaminating groundwater."

Travis Loller reports for the Associated Press October 16, 2020. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"EPA May Violate Courts With New Rule Extending Life Of Unlined Coal Ash Ponds" (The Hill) [3]