Does the North Dakota Coal Combustion Residuals program meet all federal requirements?

No.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved North Dakota’s Coal Combustion Residuals permit program to operate in place of most federal requirements under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. However, the approval is partial.

EPA did not approve the state program for certain federal requirements, including portions of more recent federal rule amendments, alternate liner demonstrations, and alternate groundwater protection standards.

For those areas, federal Coal Combustion Residuals regulations continue to apply directly to facilities in North Dakota.

As a result, while North Dakota is authorized to administer most of the program, its program does not cover all federally applicable CCR requirements.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: U.S. State of North Dakota Coal Combustion Residuals Permit Program

Federal Register: North Dakota: Approval of State Coal Combustion Residuals Permit Program