The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced on February 10 it was extending a deadline three years for the closure of legacy coal ash disposal impoundments.
The Agency did so by publishing its final “Hazardous and Solid Waste Management System: Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals From Electric Utilities; CCR Management Unit Deadline Extension Rule” in the Federal Register.
At 40 CFR part 257, subpart D, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act regulations for coal-fired electric power plants residuals disposal, the EPA extended the compliance deadlines for initiating closure of legacy coal ash disposal impoundments by three years, while the original rule had been in effect since 2015.
The main rationale for the extension was that there were insufficient contractors to support this work to comply with the 10-year-old rule but gave no summary documentation of that circumstance in the Preamble to the final rule. Similarly, the groundwater monitoring systems installation deadlines are extended by three years.
NGWA submitted comments in December 2025 to the EPA on the proposed rule stating, “A three-year extension poses a continuing threat to groundwater supply systems near these unlined coal combustion residuals disposal impoundments” including private, public, and homeowner water systems.
NGWA also stated, “The impacts of unlined and clay lined coal ash surface impoundments to groundwater quality have been well documented, posing endangerment to underground sources of drinking water for nearby water systems.” Click here to read NGWA's comments.
The EPA justified the extensions were necessary to protect human health and the environment. The Preamble raised concerns for human health from exposure to contaminants such as arsenic, mercury, and cadmium could lead to cancer, heart damage, lung disease, birth defects, and potential premature death but gave no response as to assisting nearby residents in dealing with these health effects.