The Trump administration has proposed allowing Virginia to manage cleanup and enforcement of coal ash dumps, continuing its streak of handing oversight of the industrial waste to states.
EPA issued a preliminary decision Thursday granting Virginia’s request to manage and enforce cleanup of its 25 coal ash sites. If the decision is finalized, Virginia would become the sixth state with primary authority over the toxic waste generated by coal-fired power plants.
“Today’s proposal reflects the Trump EPA’s commitment to cooperative federalism and permitting reform, core pillars of our Powering the Great American Comeback Initiative,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a news release.
Virginia began working with the federal government on a coal ash permitting program in 2019. The state’s Department of Environmental Quality has shown it has sufficient resources to inspect coal ash piles, allow public participation and follow other federal requirements, EPA said.
