News
EPA Proposes to Expand its Regulations on Dumps of Toxic Waste From Burning Coal
The action was prompted by a lawsuit seeking to close a glaring loophole that had left many of the nation’s mountains of coal ash without federal regulations, but the agency would still exempt some disposal sites.
By James Bruggers, Amy Green
The Biden administration is taking steps to address a regulatory loophole that public interest groups said allowed at least a half-billion tons of toxic coal ash to go unregulated.
Related Knowledge Center: Methane
State of Play
As the production of natural gas from shale fields has expanded, so have methane emissions. U.S. methane emissions grew 27 percent from 1990 to 2009, according to the Energy Information Administration. Methane contributes about 10 percent of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and is 25 times more potent a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.