Environmental Group Applauds New EPA Coal Ash Standards

An environmental group says new federal rules for coal ash from power plants are generally good news for Wisconsin.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the plan on Friday. Sierra Club-Wisconsin Director Shalah Werner said one rule would require groundwater monitoring near coal ash sites such as in Racine and Sheboygan counties.

“In Wisconsin, you look at places like the Town of Wilson or Caledonia where they suspect their drinking water wells might have been contaminated by nearby coal ash landfills. This would then provide some mechanism for determining that, and if there is a problem, either remedying the situation somehow or even closing those sites,” said Werner.

Werner said her group is disappointed that the EPA won’t classify coal ash as hazardous waste.

A national contractors organization, for its part, said it’s happy the ash can still be used in concrete and other construction materials.