Executives for several utility companies that provide power to Kentucky and nearby states want the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s new boss to roll back regulations on coal ash generated by their operations.
Making electricity with coal leaves behind ash that can contaminate groundwater sources with dangerous substances like arsenic.
In a joint Jan.15 letter to Lee Zeldin, whom the U.S. Senate confirmed to the post of EPA Administrator Wednesday, the power company executives say they want the agency to overhaul federal coal-ash rules that guide how companies store and manage coal ash, prevent hazardous substances from leaking into nearby water sources and remediate contamination.
The executives also want the EPA to work on repealing major restrictions Biden placed on future greenhouse gas emissions by some coal and natural gas power plants, arguing the rules are unlawful and the EPA should stop defending them in court. They warn the looming limits on emissions would force premature closures of most remaining coal-fired power plants and unnecessarily constrain natural gas plants’ operations.
In their letter to Zeldin, which was first reported this week by Canary Media, the utility executives said recent regulatory changes “resulted in significant burdens on the Nation’s power sector without tangible benefits.”
Executives from Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities, Ohio Valley Electric Corp. and Indiana-Kentucky Electric Corp., and Duke Energy signed the letter.
Lisa Evans, a senior counsel for Earthjustice and expert on coal ash policy, said the companies are effectively asking the Trump administration to “do the industry’s bidding to get rid of regulations that they think are burdensome.”
However, she said Trump’s EPA can’t easily reverse or weaken the EPA’s coal-ash rules. Proposed changes must meet certain standards, including a legal mandate to protect human health and the environment. And any change to coal ash regulations will be difficult because the damage and harm caused by the substance is well-established, she said.
“We fortunately have … a system of making regulations in this country that provides safeguards for this kind of political pressure,” she told the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting. “Regulations can be changed, but they can't be changed by fiat.”
An LG&E-KU spokesperson told KyCIR their organizations’ primary concern is for the millions of families and businesses they serve.
“We have serious concerns about both the appropriateness and legality of the provisions in the recent changes made by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to air, water and waste regulations,” LG&E/KU’s emailed statement said. “As written, these regulations mandate reliance on technologies that are not yet available, risk grid reliability and would have significant economic impacts on utilities’ customers, local communities and states like Kentucky.”
A spokesperson for Duke Energy, which has operations in Indiana and Kentucky, told KyCIR they’re letting the letter speak for itself. A staffer with Ohio Valley Electric Corp. referred KyCIR to major shareholder American Electric Power, which did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.
