C.F.R. » Title 40 » CHAPTER I—ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY › SUBCHAPTER I—SOLID WASTES › PART 257—CRITERIA FOR CLASSIFICATION OF SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL FACILITIES AND PRACTICES › Subpart D—Standards for the Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals in Landfills and Surface Impoundments

40 C.F.R. § 257.50

Scope and purpose

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(a) This subpart establishes minimum national criteria for purposes of determining which solid waste disposal facilities and solid waste management practices do not pose a reasonable probability of adverse effects on health or the environment under sections 1008(a)(3) and 4004(a) of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

(b) This subpart applies to owners and operators of new and existing landfills and surface impoundments, including any lateral expansions of such units that dispose or otherwise engage in solid waste management of CCR generated from the combustion of coal at electric utilities and independent power producers. Unless otherwise provided in this subpart, these requirements also apply to disposal units located off-site of the electric utility or independent power producer. This subpart also applies to any practice that does not meet the definition of a beneficial use of CCR.

(c) This subpart also applies to inactive CCR surface impoundments at active electric utilities or independent power producers, regardless of how electricity is currently being produced at the facility.

(d) (1) This subpart applies to CCR management units containing 1,000 tons or greater of CCR, located at active facilities or facilities with a legacy CCR surface impoundment.

(2) CCR management units containing greater than or equal to 1 ton and less than 1,000 tons of CCR, located at active facilities or facilities with a legacy CCR surface impoundment, are subject only to the requirements of the facility evaluation report in § 257.75 until a permitting authority determines that regulation of these units, either individually or in the aggregate, is warranted and determines the applicable requirements.

(e) This subpart applies to electric utilities or independent power producers that ceased producing electricity prior to October 19, 2015 and have a legacy CCR surface impoundment onsite.

(f) This subpart does not apply to wastes, including fly ash, bottom ash, boiler slag, and flue gas desulfurization materials generated at facilities that are not part of an electric utility or independent power producer, such as manufacturing facilities, universities, and hospitals. This subpart also does not apply to fly ash, bottom ash, boiler slag, and flue gas desulfurization materials, generated primarily from the combustion of fuels (including other fossil fuels) other than coal, for the purpose of generating electricity unless the fuel burned consists of more than fifty percent (50%) coal on a total heat input or mass input basis, whichever results in the greater mass feed rate of coal.

(g) This subpart does not apply to practices that meet the definition of a beneficial use of CCR.

(h) This subpart does not apply to CCR placement at active or abandoned underground or surface coal mines.

(i) This subpart does not apply to municipal solid waste landfills that receive CCR.

[80 FR 21468, Apr. 17, 2015, as amended at 89 FR 39099, May 8, 2024]
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 9 cases (4 in the last 5 years), 2015–2024 · leading case: Util. Solid Waste Activities Grp. v. Envtl. Prot. Agency, 901 F.3d 414 (D.C. Cir. 2018).
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Util. Solid Waste Activities Grp. v. Envtl. Prot. Agency, 901 F.3d 414 (D.C. Cir. 2018). · cites it 5× “§ 6973 , or (ii) to attempt to remediate the damage after contamination has occurred.”
Sierra Club v. Va. Elec. & Power Co., 903 F.3d 403 (4th Cir. 2018). · cites it 2× “See 40 C.F.R. §§ 257.50 - 257.107. These facilities are required to obtain a permit either directly from the EPA or from an EPA-approved state program that mandates compliance with the minimum national criteria, as well as any other conditions imposed by the issuing state agency.”
Cpm Va., LLC v. Mjm Golf, LLC., 780 S.E.2d 282 (Va. 2015). “2 See generally 40 C.F.R. § 257.50 (b) (2015) (classifying "coal combustion residuals," including fly ash "generated from the combustion of coal at electric utilities," as "solid waste" under Subtitle D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act rather than hazardous waste…”
Midwest Generation, LLC v. Illinois Pollution Control Bd., 2024 IL App (4th) 210304 (Ill. App. Ct. 2024). “Subpart D also states that it applies to “inactive CCR surface - 49 - impoundments at active electric utilities or independent power producers.”
Elec. Energy, Inc. v. EPA (D.C. Cir. 2024). · cites it 2× “First, regarding regulation of units that stopped receiving coal residuals before October 2015, the plain text of the 2015 Rule applies to “inactive service impoundments,” 40 C.F.R. § 257.50 (c), which the Rule defines as “surface impoundment[s] that no longer receive[] [coal…”
Waterkeeper All., Inc. v. Wheeler (D.D.C. 2019). “17, 2015) (codified at 40 C.F.R. § 257.50 et seq.); 42 U.S.C. §§ 6941–6949a.”
Waterkeeper All., Inc. v. Wheeler (D.D.C. 2020). “17, 2015) (codified at 40 C.F.R. § 257.50 ). Coal residuals, or coal ash, “are generated from the combustion of coal .”
Mobile Baykeeper, Inc. v. Alabama Power Co. (S.D. Ala. 2024). “, and the Federal CCR Regulations, 40 C.F.R. § 257.50 et seq. Baykeeper initiated its enforcement action under the RCRA’s citizens’ suit provision, 42 U.”
Cottonwood Env't Law Ctr. v. Edwards (D. Mont. 2022). “See 40 C.F.R. §§ 257.50 , 257.53. RCRA provides specific guidelines for coal ash facilities and groundwater quality monitoring.”
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