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A bill advancing in the Maryland General Assembly would enshrine a recent federal rule on coal ash dumps in state law, as President Donald Trump’s administration considers rolling that standard back.
The Biden-era regulation, which took effect in May 2024, essentially requires owners of inactive coal ash disposal sites to follow the same clean-up rules as active dump sites, closing a loophole that had long frustrated environmentalists.
But Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency is “reviewing” the 2024 rule and is considering extending deadlines for utility companies to comply, according to a March news release from the agency.
The Maryland bills would lock the 2024 rule in place, and the Senate version passed that chamber just before the “crossover” deadline earlier this week. It is currently scheduled for a hearing Wednesday before the House Environment and Transportation Committee.
States are allowed to set their own coal ash rules, so long as they are either equally or more stringent than the federal law, said Lisa Evans, a senior attorney for Eartjustice who has focused on the issue.
“I’m thrilled to see that Maryland is stepping up, because we’re going to need the states to hold the line and enforce the federal rule,” Evans said. “In a couple of years, those federal regulations may not be on the books.”
Utility companies have pushed back against the 2024 rule change. In a January letter to current EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, the Utility Solid Waste Activities Group, a trade association for utilities, argued that the Biden administration “broadly expanded the scope of the regulations to encompass activities that not only are outside of EPA’s statutory authority, but also have historically been within the purview of the States.”
The trade association called for the agency to rescind the “burdensome” rule, arguing that it should only cover dump sites that currently contain both coal byproducts and surface water. That would allow for the freedom to establish “risk-based closure standards tailored to site-specific conditions.”
Though few coal-fired power plants remain in Maryland, the state still has several dump sites containing coal-burning byproducts that are likely to fall under the 2024 rule.
Lists on EPA’s website include dumps associated with the Warrior Run power plant in Allegany County, Montgomery County’s Dickerson plant and two associated with Charles County’s Morgantown plant.
Coal ash dumps pose an environmental and health concern in part because they can fill with rainwater, causing heavy metal pollutants to seep into the groundwater below, and into nearby bodies of water, Evans said. Many historic dumping sites were unlined and uncovered.
The list of contaminants includes arsenic, boron and iron, which may be the most visible culprit, said Betsy Nicholas, vice president of programs and litigation at the Potomac Riverkeeper Network.
“You’ll see this characteristic orange going into streams, and they’ll turn bright orange,” Nicholas said. “It’s the easiest visual cue.”
Nicholas said she supports the Maryland bill, SB425/ HB902, because it would likely compel clean-ups in the state. On top of that, she said the bill incentivizes utilities to find beneficial reuse opportunities for their coal waste.
For example, the ash can be used in the manufacturing of concrete, reducing the need to pull other natural materials from the Earth, and lowering the concrete industry’s carbon footprint.
“There’s a dual purpose in this,” Nicholas said.
Nicholas said that advocates are hoping to pass the bill in honor of the late Navy Cmdr. Paul Arthur Petzrick, who worked for the state’s Power Plant Research Program and advocated for beneficial reuse of coal ash.
A 2019 report by the Research Program documented 79 sites where coal combustion byproducts were dumped in the state. About 20 of those sites were deemed potential candidates for recovery and reuse of the coal ash, according to the report.
The EPA under Zeldin has also stated plans to place coal ash enforcement “more fully into state hands,” according to a recent news release. In its January letter, the utility trade association called for the EPA to approve state-level enforcement programs for coal ash.
Evans said she fears that this would allow “pro-coal” states to enforce the existing federal rules more leniently — even before the EPA begins the lengthy process of rolling back the 2024 regulation.
So far, EPA’s public statements about the coal ash rule indicate that utilities will have “unprecedented influence” in the federal government, Evans said.
“We’re seeing that right away,” Evans said.
