"The latest proposed rule change would also relax some of the safeguards intended to prevent water contamination from that type of dumping of toxic ash."
"Just as utilities have begun making costly plans to move toxic coal ash out of fragile storage ponds to protect waterways and aquifers, the Trump administration may be about to give them a cheaper alternative: Letting them use unlimited amounts of ash at certain construction sites.
The Environmental Protection Agency proposed rule changes this week that would eliminate Obama-era limits on how much ash can be used the way dirt or gravel is to level ground or fill in holes or ravines. EPA also said it would relax some of the safeguards intended to prevent water contamination from that type of ash dumping.
It's the Trump administration's latest effort to scale back the nation's first rules on the management of coal-burning wastes, established in 2015 by the Obama administration—rules that have led to lawsuits from utilities and environmental advocates. The Obama administration acted after documenting how coal ash stored at power plants across the country, including several in the Southeast, had contaminated groundwater, polluted water wells and sickened fish."
James Bruggers reports for InsideClimate News August 1, 2019.
Advertisement 
