A federal judge has given the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 60 days to set a date for finalizing a coal-ash regulation. In an Oct. 29 memorandum, Reggie Walton, a district judge for the District of Columbia, said EPA must submit a proposal to the court for setting a release date for the controversial rule. The EPA proposed the regulation in 2010.
Environmental groups have argued that coal ash should be designated a hazardous waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). But construction groups contend that designation would stigmatize its reuse as a "green" component in concrete and other building materials.