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Analysis - The Institute for Southern Studies

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Executive Summary<br />

This RIA evaluates the expected regulatory compliance costs, economic and environmental benefits, and potential impact on CCR beneficial<br />

use, of EPA’s proposed regulation of coal combustion residual (CCR) disposal by coal-fired electric utility plants. <strong>The</strong> CCR disposal<br />

regulatory options evaluated in this RIA are based on EPA’s statutory authority contained in the 1976 Resource Conservation and Recovery<br />

Act (RCRA). <strong>The</strong> main findings of this RIA are summarized below according to six sections:<br />

ES-1:<br />

ES-2:<br />

ES-3:<br />

ES-4:<br />

ES-5:<br />

ES-6:<br />

Regulatory Options Evaluated in this RIA<br />

Benefits of Avoided Future Groundwater Contamination (Human Health Protection & Avoided Remediation Costs)<br />

Benefits of Avoided Future CCR Impoundment Structural Failures (Avoided Cleanup Costs)<br />

Economic and Environmental Benefits from Future Increase in CCR Beneficial Uses by Other Industries<br />

Regulatory Compliance Costs<br />

Comparison of Regulatory Benefits to Costs<br />

ES-1: Regulatory Options Evaluated in this RIA<br />

This RIA evaluates three options <strong>for</strong> RCRA regulation of CCR disposal at coal-fired electric utility plants. All options (a) maintain the existing<br />

Bevill regulatory exclusion <strong>for</strong> CCR beneficial uses, and (b) propose the same set of 10 custom-tailored engineering controls (i.e., technical<br />

design and operating standards) <strong>for</strong> CCR disposal units:<br />

1. Subtitle C “Special Waste” Option: Regulate CCR landfills and impoundments as a “special waste” under Subtitle C requirements, and<br />

would require phase out of impoundments within five years.<br />

2. Subtitle D Option (version 2): Composite liners required <strong>for</strong> all (i.e., existing and future new) CCR impoundments but only <strong>for</strong> new<br />

landfills. For any CCR landfills and impoundments that closed be<strong>for</strong>e the effective date, there would be no regulatory controls over<br />

those units, unless the states choose to adopt controls over such units. Also, all surface impoundments (existing and new) would need<br />

to have composite liners within 5-years of the effective date.<br />

3. Subtitle “D prime” Option: Composite liners required only <strong>for</strong> new impoundments and landfills; unlined units could continue to<br />

operate. This approach would be the same as the Subtitle D option above, except that existing impoundments would not be required to<br />

retrofit and install a composite liner, or close.<br />

5

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