Coal Ash Dumps Lacking Regulation Nation-Wide

Waste from a Tennessee Valley Authority coal ash pond in Alabama spilled last week, less than a month after the major rupture that flooded more than 300 acres in eastern Tennessee with toxic sludge. Environmentalists, scientists and other experts say that standardized regulations could have prevented the Tennessee spill. A 2007 EPA report found that regulation of the 1,300 US coal ash ponds vary widely from state to state. For example, Alabama doesn't regulate coal ash at all and Texas doesn't consider most it a solid waste. The EPA had considered designating coal ash as hazardous waste in 2000, but back pedaled when an industry campaign argued that tighter controls would cost $5 billion.  The amount of coal ash waste has ballooned in recent years, from 90 million tons in 1990 to 131 million tons in 2007, because of increased electricity consumption and air pollution improvements. Read more at New York Times