EPA signed off Tuesday on Wyoming’s plan to regulate coal ash dumps within its boundaries, the latest example of the Trump administration ceding oversight of the waste to a major coal-producing state.
Wyoming is now the fifth state authorized to run a permit program for coal ash dumps and landfills, joining Georgia, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Texas. In Wyoming’s case, the administration granted a “partial” permit program, meaning the state will handle and enforce some, but not all, federal environmental requirements for coal ash, EPA said in a final decision.
“By empowering state experts to manage their own resources, landscapes, facilities, and communities, Wyoming will use its local expertise to protect the environment and promote economic growth,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a news release.
Coal ash is the waste left over after coal is burned for energy and contains toxic heavy metals like lead and mercury.
