Government
North Dakota Joins Growing List of States with Coal Ash Disposal Oversight
Cleanup after the 2014 Dan River coal ash spill in North Carolina. Environmental groups like Earthjustice worry that some states' coal residuals programs fall short of what's needed to prevent water pollution.
North Dakota has become the fourth state in the U.S. to be given authority to manage its own coal ash removal operations, following the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s approval of the state’s coal combustion residuals program.
The decision, announced Nov. 5, allows the state Department of Environmental Quality, instead of EPA, to issue permits for coal combustion residuals (CCR) disposal in surface impoundments and landfills. Besides North Dakota, Georgia, West Virginia and Ohio have previously received approval to manage their own CCR programs.
Earlier this year, EPA announced that it would take swift action on CCRs including state permit program reviews and updates to regulations. The administration has proposed approval of Wyoming’s program and is also working with other states.
An EPA spokesperson told ENR that North Dakota “has a unique landscape and unique community needs, and [that] local experts should lead the way in protecting the environment and fostering economic growth,” adding that the approval “exemplifies how partnership between EPA and states can unleash American energy and create jobs.”
The action is in line with the Trump administration’s plan to “reinvigorate” the coal industry and increase domestic energy production. In an executive order last April. President Donald Trump said this is needed to secure the nation’s economic prosperity and national security and to lower living costs.
In addition, EPA issued a direct final rule and companion proposal last July to extend compliance deadlines for CCR management unit requirements. The agency said this allows facilities to submit both sections of the Facility Evaluation Report together, provided that both reports are turned in no later than February 8, 2027.
CCR, which is mostly produced by burning coal in coal-fired plants, includes several by-products such as fly ash, bottom ash, boiler slag and flue gas desulfurization material.
After reviewing North Dakota’s program, EPA said it determined last May that its CCR application meets standards and that, following review of public comments submitted to the agency, it finalized the approval.
“There might be lessons learned that we should factor in,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a live-streamed press conference with North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong (R) in Bismarck Nov. 5. “But what I assessed very quickly is that this agency was very well prepared to send a message to all states throughout this entire country that we're ready and open for business.”
Armstrong said the state has regulated CCR effectively for more than 40 years while protecting the environment and public health. “The potential to extract rare earth elements and critical minerals from CCR – instead of having to import them from foreign adversaries – makes this approval of our CCR permit program even more important to U.S. energy independence, the economy and national security.”
Environmental groups were quick to condemn the handing of CCR oversight to the states.
“EPA buried its head in the sand and ignored the permits North Dakota has already issued to eight coal ash dumps. Those permits have allowed rampant noncompliance with the law for years, and it’s illegal for EPA to disregard them,” Lauren Piette, senior attorney at Earthjustice, told ENR in an email. “EPA knows it’s illegal because the agency said it was just one year ago, when it denied Alabama’s application after evaluating the state’s coal ash permits.”
According to the American Coal Ash Association, 69% of the coal ash produced in the U.S. in 2023 was recycled and marked the ninth consecutive year that more than half of production was beneficially used rather than disposed of.
