EPA Strengthens Grid Reliability & Energy Security with Extended Compliance Deadline for Several Coal Combustion Residual Management Unit Requirements
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a final rule extending key compliance deadlines for coal combustion residual management unit (CCRMU) and groundwater monitoring requirements. The action supports grid reliability and unleashes American energy potential while maintaining strong protections for human health and the environment.
“Today’s deadline extensions and revisions will ensure that electric utilities can efficiently meet regulatory standards while protecting human health and the environment,” said EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. “The steps we are taking today offer essential regulatory relief, fulfilling the promises we made on the greatest and most consequential day of deregulation in U.S. history last March to unleash American energy and lower the cost of living for Americans without compromising environmental protection.”
This final rule extends deadlines by one year for facilities with CCRMUs to complete the Facility Evaluation Report (FER) Part 1 and FER Part 2 and establish CCR websites. These reports identify the units and include figures of the facilities, where the units are located, and the sizes of the units. Regulated utilities must post these reports on their CCR websites for public access to enhance transparency and accountability. The final rule provides these facilities with three years to comply with the groundwater monitoring requirements and is making conforming changes to deadlines for the other CCRMU requirements. This additional time will allow the regulated community to overcome the challenges that were adversely impacting their ability to comply with the CCRMU compliance deadlines.
In addition, this rule finalizes some of the amendments that were proposed on January 16, 2025, to fix incorrect regulatory text citations as well as clarify and add provisions in the regulatory text to match the language included in the preamble. These essential changes will provide much needed clarity that will help industry to better comply with the CCR regulations.
Read more about this final rule on our website.
Background
On March 12, 2025, EPA committed to taking swift action on CCR, including state permit program reviews and updates to the CCR regulations. Since then, EPA has approved North Dakota’s CCR permit program and proposed to approve Wyoming’s CCR permit program. The agency has also made significant progress working with other states as they seek to manage their own CCR programs. EPA will continue working with state partners to prioritize timely action and empower those with local expertise to oversee more effective CCR disposal operations.
Additionally, in November, EPA proposed to extend an alternative closure requirement deadline. This deadline extension would promote electric grid reliability, in alignment with Executive Order 14262, by allowing a subset of coal-fired power producers to continue to operate beyond the regulation’s current deadline.