Pending 4th Circuit Cases Could Set Standard For Coal Ash Liability

摘要

An array of citizen enforcement suits, centered in the states governed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, are testing Clean Water Act (CWA) and Resource Conservation & Recovery Act (RCRA) limits on water contamination from coal ash disposal sites — with the potential for rulings that would have nationwide influence on those issues going forward. A pair of cases pending in federal courts in North Carolina are apparently the first to challenge facilities' compliance with EPA's first-time RCRA rule governing ash disposal, which could set the bar for states as they prepare to develop programs to implement the federal regulation.