EPA will Allow Salt River Project to Continue to Recklessly Dump Toxic Coal Ash

EPA today announced that it approved an application from Salt River Project (SRP) for its coal ash pond at the Coronado Generating Station in Apache County. SRP’s application is supposed to demonstrate that the unlined coal ash pond doesn’t pollute groundwater or the environment. But the Coronado coal ash pond has violated EPA standards that set minimum criteria for safe coal ash disposal and monitoring. Today, EPA’s decision enables the utility to continue dumping its toxic waste into the unlined pond next to the Coronado plant while SRP prepares further documentation for EPA.

Unlined, toxic coal ash ponds are known to leak and pollute groundwater, as well as rivers and streams, releasing toxic and radioactive substances into the water, rendering it unsafe for human consumption, and threatening the health of surrounding communities. Coal ash contains a toxic brew of mercury, cadmium, chromium, and arsenic, which can cause cancer, neurological damage, and other serious illnesses.

In January 2025, EPA had initially disapproved of SRP’s plan to ignore wastewater pollution from the Coronado ash pond, and rejected the utility’s request to extend the closure date for the pond. This February, the Trump EPA reversed track, ignoring strong evidence that SRP has violated rules governing coal ash or coal combustion residuals (“CCR”) at the site, and proposed to grant SRP’s request to evade wastewater regulations and closure requirements. Today, EPA authorized SRP to keep dumping as it prepares further documentation for EPA’s review.

The Coronado coal plant is one of Arizona’s worst coal ash polluters, dumping over 16 million cubic yards of coal ash. In March, Sierra Club, Earthjustice, Tó Nizhóní Áni, and Diné Water Rights Coalition submitted comments urging EPA to withdraw its proposed approval, and uphold the January 2025 final denial of SRP’s application.

“EPA’s decision undermines its duty to protect public health and safeguard our drinking water,” said Director of the Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon Chapter, Sandy Bahr. “Instead, the agency is enabling polluters to continue poisoning communities with toxic waste while it gets away without having to clean up its messes. Arizonans depend on the EPA to keep coal plants from polluting our water and harming our health. It’s painfully obvious that’s no longer a priority.”

Lisa Perfetto, a senior attorney with Earthjustice, said, “The Trump administration once again is threatening the public’s health through exposure to toxic coal ash, this time at the Salt River Project’s unlined and leaking Coronado coal ash pond. EPA was right in 2025 to tell the Coronado plant to deal with its leaking toxic waste pond. Instead of avoiding accountability, the Salt River Project should abandon its efforts to keep this dangerous pond open and clean up its toxic mess.”