New Opportunities for Contractors to Provide Input on EPA's Fly Ash Rule

On August 19, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) extended by 60 days the public comment period for its proposed rule to classify coal combustion residuals (CCR) as either hazardous or non-hazardous waste. The new deadline to submit comments is November 19. CCRs are used widely in vertical and horizontal construction. AGC will hold an Environmental Network conference call on September 23 and EPA has announced a series of public hearings across the country. The extension of the comment deadline allows AGC to more thoroughly review member responses to the association's survey (closed August 16) and to solicit additional input from members during a special Environmental Network conference call.  A preliminary review of the survey responses indicates that members will continue to use CCRs, such as fly ash, on projects where mandated by the specifications. Even so, a clear majority feared that a hazardous designation would increase liability for new construction and demolition that include fly ash materials, create a stigma against materials incorporating fly ash and introduce new and uncertain requirements for shipping, handling, use and disposal. Even with an exemption from the hazardous designation for the beneficial use of CCRs, members have expressed doubt that the public would differentiate between beneficial use, such as in wallboard or concrete, and the disposal practices that ignited public concern in December 2008 with the Kingston, Tenn., impoundment breach and spill.  AGC plans to further discuss these issues during the conference call. Sign Up: AGC Environmental Network Conference Call AGC invites Environmental Network members to a conference call on September 23 at NOON ET. The purpose of the call is to have an open discussion on the implications of the proposed rule and to further advise AGC staff in advance of filing formal comments with EPA. AGC will send out a question sheet for participants to consider in advance of the call. Those questions will guide the discussion. To register for the conference call, send an e-mail to Crystal Yates at yatesc@agc.org. To prepare for an active and well-informed discussion on the merits of the proposal, AGC encourages conference call participants to review the transcripts from the educational webinars EPA held in early August. Resources from those webinars and listings of future webinars are available on EPA's website at http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/industrial/special/fossil/ccr-rule/ccr-webinar.htm. Attend: EPA Hearings EPA will host seven public hearings on the proposed rule. Each hearing will begin at 10:00 a.m. and continue until 9:00 p.m. Walk-ins and written comments will be accepted at each hearing, though attendees must register for the public hearing no later than three business days in advance to guarantee a time slot in which to speak. Interested attendees should prepare remarks focusing on one or two key points that take no longer than three minutes to express. August 30:       Hyatt Regency, 2799 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, Va. September 2:    Grand Hyatt, 1750 Welton Street, Denver, Colo. September 8:    Hyatt Regency Dallas, 300 Reunion Boulevard, Dallas, Texas September 14:  Holiday Inn Charlotte (Airport), 2707 Little Rock Road, Charlotte, N.C. September 16:  Hilton Chicago, 720 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Ill. September 21:  Omni Hotel, 530 William Penn Place, Pittsburgh, Pa. September 28:  Seelbach Hilton, 500 Fourth Street, Louisville, Ky. To pre-register to speak at the hearings, please call EPA at (703) 308-8429 or sign up online at http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/industrial/special/fossil/ccr-rule/ccr-form.htm. For More Information More information about the proposed regulation is online at http://www.epa.gov/coalashrule. This Web page provides information on the proposed rule, a comparison of the two proposed options for regulation of CCRs, EPA webinars and public hearings. For more information or to offer additional insight and comments, please contact Melinda Tomaino at tomainom@agc.org or (703) 837-5415.