"Environmentalists Claim EPA Overstates Coal Waste's Value"

"Environmentalists claim the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has overestimated by more than 20 times the value of recycling coal burning wastes.

Inflated values 'could end up stacking the deck' in favor of weaker rules for managing the nation’s massive volume of ash and scrubber wastes from coal-fired power plants, said Eric Schaeffer, director of the Environmental Integrity Project, one of three groups participating in a telephone press conference on Wednesday.

Schaeffer said a review of the EPA’s cost-benefit analysis shows the federal government used faulty numbers that produce a case that’s more favorable for an industry-friendly decision regarding coal-burning waste rules."

James Bruggers reports for the Louisville Courier-Journal December 29, 2010.

SEE ALSO:

Groups Say White House OMB Fudged Numbers on Coal-Ash Benefits (Green/NYT)