Central ND News

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved North Dakota's application for a state-led program focused on the recycling and disposal of coal ash. This initiative is grounded in bipartisan legislation authored by U.S. Senator John Hoeven, passed in 2016.

Senator Hoeven outlined the benefits of this program, stating it will provide "certainty for the safe and efficient recycling of coal ash." Coal ash is utilized in construction projects as an ingredient that contributes to more cost-effective, stronger, and durable cement forms. Notably, coal ash was used in constructing the North Dakota Heritage Center and the National Energy Center of Excellence at Bismarck State College.

The new program will also establish a state-managed permit system for coal ash disposal. This system includes requirements for protective infrastructure at disposal sites and mandates timely groundwater monitoring among other standards.

"North Dakota is leading the way in developing more energy with better environmental stewardship," Hoeven remarked. He expressed appreciation for the EPA's collaboration with North Dakota to approve this program, emphasizing its importance for both energy producers and environmental management.

Hoeven's legislation responded to a gap left by a 2014 EPA rule that classified coal as non-hazardous but lacked an enforcement mechanism beyond litigation. States without an approved permit program or those not pursuing one will remain under direct EPA regulation.