The use of toxic coal ash as a substitute for clean soil in construction and landscaping remains largely unregulated despite the risks.

U.S. Court of Appeals affirms that EPA regulations prohibit closing coal ash dumps with ash sitting in groundwater

Earthjustice petition for review of wastewater treatment standards for coal-fired power plants (ELGs) filed May 30, 2024. Earthjustice is challenging the 2034 retirement loophole and weaker standards for what the Environmental Protection Agency is calling “unmanaged” leachate, leachate that has already leaked out of coal ash ponds and landfills and contaminated groundwater.

Lisa Evans, Senior Counsel, Clean Energy Program: “They have a motivation to not find as much contamination.”

Lisa Evans, Senior Counsel, Clean Energy Program: “We’re going to see a long-awaited crackdown on coal ash pollution from America’s coal plants, and it’ll be a huge win for America’s health and water resources. They are all likely leaking toxic chemicals like arsenic into groundwater and most contain levels of radioactivity that can be dangerous…

By law, before government regulations are adopted or changed, agencies must ask the public — you — to weigh in.

A major victory for communities living near coal ash plants, the rule closes a loophole that left over half of coal ash exempt from federal clean-up requirements.

Los estándares abordarán las principales fuentes de contaminación climática y protegerán la salud pública

Use this map to understand where coal ash might be stored near you.

Earthjustice analyzed industry data to explain, state by state, how and where coal ash is disposed and which dump sites are not yet monitored or regulated.

Coal ash is what is left behind when power plants burn coal for energy, It is a toxic mix of carcinogens, neurotoxins, and other hazardous pollutants.

A 15-year legal fight to curb toxic wastewater to protect drinking water.

Standards will tackle major sources of climate pollution and protect public health

Applied Energy Services continúa contaminando el aire, el suelo y el agua en Puerto Rico con cenizas de carbón tóxicas.

Community advocates urge Illinois EPA to swiftly enforce rules

Lisa Evans, Senior Counsel, Clean Energy Program: “It may result in very few properties being cleaned up if that [natural level of arsenic] standard is set artificially high.”

Gavin Kearney, Deputy Managing Attorney, Clean Energy Program: “The whole overarching point (of the federal rules) is that groundwater contamination is a big problem; it’s really unsafe, and we have to prevent it. You can’t let water in (to a coal ash impoundment); you can’t let water out; you can’t let water just sit inside…

Lisa Evans, Senior Counsel, Clean Energy Program: “Nothing prevents power plants from moving radioactive waste from their own backyards into the backyards and neighborhoods where American families live.”