The Trump administration's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed giving Alabama the authority to oversee the disposal of coal combustion residuals (coal ash) within the state. This move reverses a decision from the Biden administration in 2024, which had rejected Alabama's 2021 application due to concerns that the state's proposed permitting standards were less protective than federal requirements.
The new proposal would allow the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) to manage permits for coal ash disposal in landfills and surface impoundments, replacing the federal program. The EPA stated that its review found Alabama's updated application meets federal standards for approval. This decision aligns with the Trump administration's broader approach to devolving regulatory power to states, with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin stating that Alabama's understanding of its resources and topography is superior to that of federal bureaucrats.
Alabama has 14 regulated coal ash units at eight sites, with nine being unlined surface impoundments undergoing closure. A key focus for ADEM will be the closure of these unlined units and addressing groundwater contamination caused by coal ash. If finalized, permits already issued by Alabama would be reviewed under the newly approved state rules, including a new public comment period. The EPA will accept public comments on the proposal until September 14 and plans a virtual public hearing on September 3.
This action is part of a larger trend by the Trump administration to roll back environmental regulations previously strengthened under the Biden administration. For instance, the EPA is also proposing to replace stricter Biden-era wastewater limits for coal-fired power plants with new ones that offer companies greater flexibility in setting their own limits. The EPA claims changes to such regulations could reduce power generation costs by as much as $1.1 billion annually and are crucial for making electricity more affordable and reliable, especially given rising energy demand from the growth of artificial intelligence data centers. Environmental groups, however, have criticized these rollbacks as public health hazards, citing potential increases in toxic heavy metals like mercury, arsenic, and selenium in waterways, which were estimated by the Biden administration in 2024 to result in 660 to 672 million pounds per year of pollutant discharge reductions and $3.2 billion in annual public health benefits from its stricter rules.
