EPA Weighs Temporary Coal-Ash Permits as States Seek More Control

The Environmental Protection Agency is considering a temporary permitting pathway for some coal-combustion-residuals facilities, but it has not changed the nation’s coal-ash requirements.

EPA announced the proposal on July 13, 2026, and published the advance notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register on July 14. The notice asks whether eligible facilities should receive temporary coverage under a general permit while EPA or an approved state develops an individual permit.

It is an advance notice, not a final rule or a completed general-permit program. EPA says the notice imposes no new requirements and does not change existing coal-ash regulations. Comments on the federal notice are due Oct. 13, 2026.

What EPA is considering

The possible general permit would temporarily cover qualifying coal-combustion-residuals units while a federal or approved-state permit is pending. The idea is tied to EPA’s separate April 13 proposal to allow certain site-specific alternatives involving groundwater monitoring, corrective action and closure requirements.

EPA is asking which categories of coal-ash units should qualify, what information operators should submit, what terms and conditions should apply and whether coverage should expire after a set period or end when an individual permit takes effect.

The agency also wants comments on whether individual requests for general-permit coverage should receive public review and whether EPA should make a case-by-case determination that coverage is appropriate for a particular unit.

Those decisions could affect the way utilities document compliance and the way regulators oversee work at coal-ash storage and disposal sites. They could also determine how much opportunity residents, environmental groups and other interested parties have to weigh in on site-specific decisions.

Why state permitting matters

The federal-state framework comes from the 2016 Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act. The law allows states to seek EPA approval to operate coal-ash permit programs if their requirements are at least as protective as the federal standards.

EPA remains responsible for permitting in states without an approved program and in Indian Country. In states with approved programs, the state becomes the permitting authority for covered coal-ash units.

A temporary general permit could give utilities and regulators an interim process while state programs are approved or revised. But the scope of that flexibility—including eligibility, deadlines, permit conditions and public participation—has not been settled.

Alabama is the immediate test

The federal notice came alongside EPA’s July 13 proposal to approve Alabama’s partial coal-ash permit program. EPA says the proposal would allow Alabama’s Department of Environmental Management to operate the program in place of the federal program after a final approval.

The action is preliminary. Alabama’s existing permits are not being approved through this decision. EPA says those permits would have to be reviewed and modified in full if the state program is ultimately approved, and the public would have an opportunity to comment on the entire permits.

EPA rejected a similar Alabama application in 2024, saying the submitted program did not meet the federal approval standard. The new proposal therefore provides an immediate test of how much permitting responsibility states may receive and how federal officials evaluate protections for groundwater, waterways and nearby communities.

Specialist reporting by E&E News identified 16 coal-ash dumps covered by the Alabama proposal and reported that EPA described the broader effort as a way to streamline permitting and support grid reliability. Those are the agency’s stated policy goals, not evidence that the proposal has weakened protections.

EPA will hold an online public hearing on the Alabama proposal at 9 a.m. Central time on Sept. 3, 2026. Written comments are due Sept. 14. Residents near Alabama coal-ash facilities, utilities and other interested parties can use that process to review the proposed program and raise concerns.

What residents and utilities should watch

Nothing changes immediately because of the July announcements. Existing coal-ash requirements remain in place while EPA reviews comments and Alabama proceeds through its proposed-approval process.

The practical consequences will depend on several unresolved decisions:

Which facilities and coal-ash units qualify for temporary coverage.
How long coverage lasts and what ends it.
What groundwater monitoring, corrective-action and closure conditions apply.
What information operators must provide.
Whether individual coverage requests receive public comment.
How states modify existing permits after a state program is approved.

EPA says it will review the comments and then decide whether to pursue a separate proposed rule establishing general-permit regulations. Until that happens, the agency is gathering input rather than granting a nationwide general permit.

For people living near coal-ash sites, future permit modifications, groundwater-monitoring results, corrective-action plans and closure decisions will matter more than the July announcement itself.

Sources

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