EPA has agreed to extend two deadlines for complying with a Biden-era regulation requiring cleanup of coal ash dump sites.
Months after energy companies lobbied for changes, the agency will give companies another year to inspect and report on their coal ash dumps and an additional 15 months to install monitoring systems to protect groundwater. The byproduct of burning coal for electricity, coal ash contains cancer-causing heavy metals like arsenic, lead and cadmium that can leak into nearby water supplies.
The new deadline for installing groundwater monitoring systems is Aug. 8, 2029, 15 months after the original one in the 2024 rule, EPA said. In addition, the first part of a coal ash evaluation report required under the same rule is being pushed back from Feb. 9, 2026, to Feb. 8, 2027, the agency said.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the changes would advance President Donald Trump’s energy agenda.
