The practical effect of the EPA’s September 10 proposal would be to shift one part of coal-ash oversight: if finalized, Wisconsin would issue permits for coal ash disposal in landfills, while the EPA would retain direct oversight of surface impoundments, or ponds, according to the agency’s announcement. The decision is not final.
The proposal is limited to landfill permitting
The state’s program information identifies six Wisconsin landfills where coal combustion residuals have been disposed of. The proposal concerns permits for those landfills; ponds would remain under federal regulation.
State rules would remain subject to a federal standard
Wisconsin updated its coal ash landfill rules in 2022, incorporating 2015 federal technical standards for landfill design, groundwater monitoring and closure, according to the DNR. The EPA says an approved state program may not have requirements that are less protective than federal rules; Wisconsin’s requirements may be more protective, according to the agency’s proposal announcement.
Coal’s role in Wisconsin electricity
A U.S. Department of Energy Wisconsin energy-risk profile lists coal generation at 32.8 TWh, or 51% of the profile’s stated statewide electricity generation. That figure gives a measure of coal’s scale in the profile, but does not show how generation changed over the past decade.
Federal decision is still pending
The EPA is accepting public comments for 60 days and has scheduled a virtual hearing for November 9 before making a final decision, according to its announcement. If the agency approves Wisconsin’s program, the state would become the eighth state approved under the Trump EPA, the announcement says.
