Directing Committees to Review Regulations from Federal Agencies

Floor Speech

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Mr. LATTA. I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, the EPA has indicated they intend to overturn 30 years of precedent and designate coal ash as a hazardous waste, despite findings from the Department of Energy, the Federal Highway Administration, State regulatory authorities and the EPA itself that the toxicity levels in coal ash are well below the criteria that requires a hazardous waste designation. In fact, in the EPA's May 2000 regulatory determination, they concluded that coal ash does not warrant regulation as a hazardous waste, and that doing so would be environmentally counterproductive.

About 45 percent of the coal ash generated is recycled, being used as an additive in cement, concrete, wallboard and roofing materials, road-based fill materials, and snow and ice control. While all of this is completely safe, designating coal ash as a hazardous waste would halt these beneficial uses, which the EPA estimates will lead to $16.7 billion in increased costs per year, further damaging our economy.

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