Utilities Warn CWA Groundwater Liability Undermines EPA RCRA Ash Rule

摘要

Utilities are warning that a district court ruling subjecting coal ash disposal sites to Clean Water Act (CWA) discharge permits for leaks into groundwater could subvert EPA's Resource Conservation & Recovery Act (RCRA) rale governing ash disposal, an outcome they say could throw states' waste programs into "disarray." In a Sept. 20 amicus brief filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, groups representing the utility and other sectors say that to avoid this result, the court must overturn a district judge's ruling that held the Virginia Electric & Power Company (VEPCO) liable under the CWA for ash leaks that traveled through groundwater to surface waters covered by the law.