EPA puts coal waste regulation into North Dakota’s hands

BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) — The federal government will allow the state of North Dakota to regulate the handling of waste from coal-burning power plants.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, Gov. Kelly Armstrong and other officials announced Wednesday that the EPA has approved the state’s coal combustion residuals permit program.

Coal combustion residuals, or CCRs, are waste such as fly ash and other types of ash. Some can be recycled into concrete or wallboard.

Republican U.S. Sen. John Hoeven pointed to a bill he helped author to allow states to develop coal waste recycling programs.

Coal ash was used in the construction of the North Dakota Heritage Center and the National Energy Center of Excellence at Bismarck State College, according to the news release.

Fly ash also is a potential source of rare earth minerals.

“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,” Armstrong said.

North Dakota is the fourth state to be granted the permitting authority.

The Dakota Resource Council is among the environmental groups opposed to state regulation of coal combustion residuals, saying North Dakota has a history of ignoring environmental issues.

Executive Director Scott Skokos called it “a free pass for coal companies to police themselves” in a news release.

Environmental groups say coal waste landfills can leak and pollute groundwater. Coal ash spills in Tennessee and North Carolina caused extensive environmental damage.

“Once groundwater is polluted, there’s no going back,” Skokos said.

Western North Dakota has five coal-fired power plants. The lignite coal industry supports about 12,000 jobs in North Dakota.

“This announcement demonstrates confidence in North Dakota’s leadership and technical expertise, reinforcing what we’ve long known: local knowledge and accountability lead to the best outcomes for both the environment and the economy,”  Jonathan Fortner, president and CEO of the Lignite Energy Council, said in a statement.

Zeldin said the move helps cut red tape and puts more decision-making in the hands of the state, where it belongs.

“States should be more in charge of their own destiny,” Zeldin said.

Armstrong said the change gives North Dakota more control and flexibility.

“When you impose a federal regulation, 4,600 pages or otherwise … it’s almost impossible to change that if new technology comes out, or better technology comes out,” Armstrong said.

He said the change to state-level management of the coal waste will be “less restrictive, and more outcome-based.”

In an interview after the press conference, Dave Glatt, director of the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality, said North Dakota established a program to monitor coal waste in the 1990s. He said the state submitted its application for state authority during President Joe Biden’s administration.

“It’s just taken this long and, quite frankly, it shouldn’t have taken that long,” Glatt said. “When I talk to EPA now, they said it should’ve taken six months because we had a very well-established program that really checked off all the boxes.”

Glatt said he doesn’t see a need for much change to what the state is already doing, but the agency may have additional reporting requirements for the EPA. The department already inspects monitoring well sites near coal waste landfills several times per year, he said. He said the department will not need additional staff.

“I don’t think we’re going to need any more people, because we’ve already been at it for decades,” Glatt said

North Dakota Monitor Deputy Editor Jeff Beach can be reached at jbeach@northdakotamonitor.com.

North Dakota Monitor reporter Michael Achterling can be reached at machterling@northdakotamonitor.com.