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Creates a new federal program to let certain lined coal ash surface impoundments and landfills be designated as “beneficial use staging units” so the ash can be removed and reused for construction and other markets. Owners/operators must apply to the State (if the State runs an approved program) or to EPA, meet lining and groundwater-monitoring standards, submit a removal and beneficial-use plan (including any critical-minerals recovery), and remove at least 25% of stored coal combustion residuals (CCR) on a set schedule. Designated units cannot receive additional ash, are treated like sanitary landfills for closure rules while removal is underway, and may be redesignated if deadlines are met. EPA must publish an annual, state-by-state report beginning March 1, 2026. The law also preempts state or local rules that would force earlier closure of compliant staging units and allows EPA (for nonparticipating States) to approve, monitor, or revoke designations for noncompliance.
The bill gives owners/operators flexibility and some transparency while modestly reducing CCR volumes, but it prolongs the presence of substantial CCR at sites, limits local authority to require faster closures, and shifts monitoring burdens to states, trading short-term economic relief for potentially extended community and environmental risks.
Utilities and energy companies can delay costly closures by designating a compliant CCR unit as a beneficial-use staging unit, giving operators more time and flexibility to remove material and avoid immediate decommissioning costs.
State and local governments and the public gain more transparency because the EPA must report, by State and year, volumes stored, volumes removed, and any revocations of designations, improving oversight and accountability.
Rural communities may see some reduction in long-term CCR waste if owners remove at least 25% of stored material for beneficial reuse within the specified timelines, lowering future disposal needs.
Nearby rural communities remain at risk because designated units can continue storing large CCR volumes for years, potentially prolonging contamination risks to groundwater and local health.
Local governments and communities lose the ability to require earlier closures because the bill preempts State or local laws that would mandate faster CCR unit closure, limiting local public-health protections.
Environmental benefit is limited because the statute requires only 25% removal, so a majority of CCR may remain in place, reducing overall waste reduction and leaving long-term monitoring and remediation needs.
Introduced August 5, 2025 by Garland H. Barr · Last progress August 5, 2025