ADEM’s July 16, 2026, public notice names IRA Phillips, Inc., of Gadsden, as the party required to implement the plan. The agency identifies the site as Facility I.D. 12534-115-011417 and the incident as UST22-09-07.

What ADEM’s notice says

The notice states that the release from an underground storage tank resulted in soil and/or groundwater remediation requirements. ADEM lists remediation by in-situ injection as the proposed method.

In-situ injection generally refers to treating affected material at the site by injecting a remediation substance or amendment underground. The public notice does not identify the substance, treatment volume, injection locations, monitoring-well requirements or projected completion date. Those details would need to be confirmed in the full Corrective Action Plan and related records.

Public-comment deadline

ADEM’s notice allowed written comments and written requests for a public meeting within 15 days following the notice’s publication date. The notice is dated July 16, 2026, so that 15-day period would ordinarily have expired by August 3, 2026. The notice says a public-meeting request must state the nature of the issues proposed to be raised.

ADEM says copies of the Corrective Action Plan are available through its public-notice system and for inspection at the agency’s Montgomery office. The agency’s UST corrective-action page also says the public may search scanned file material by incident number or arrange a file review with the department.

What happens next

ADEM’s program information describes a general sequence that can include preliminary and secondary investigations, groundwater monitoring, risk assessment, preparation and implementation of a corrective-action plan, and eventual issuance of a no-further-action letter if requirements are met. That general sequence does not establish which steps have been completed at Ashville Texaco.

The July 16 notice records a required plan and a proposed treatment approach. It does not establish that cleanup has been completed, that construction or injection work has begun, or that ADEM has issued a no-further-action determination.

What the notice does not establish

The notice does not say that Ashville Texaco is closed or that fuel sales must stop. It does not declare an immediate public-health emergency, and it does not establish that contamination has reached private wells, drinking water, nearby homes, waterways or public property.

The main accountability questions for future updates are whether IRA Phillips implements the Corrective Action Plan, what monitoring ADEM requires, whether the agency reports additional site findings and whether ADEM eventually determines that no further corrective action is needed.

Sources

• ADEM Ashville Texaco corrective-action notice, July 16, 2026

EPA says the comment deadline is July 29, 2026. This is a comment stage, not a final decision.

What “CCR permitting” is—and the transition problem EPA is trying to solve

CCR refers to leftover materials from coal-fired power generation. Under the CCR framework, facilities typically need permits to operate and manage disposal units in ways intended to protect human health and the environment.

EPA frames a practical problem for the transition: when states revise and update their CCR programs, there can be gaps before facilities can receive site-specific permits under the updated state coverage. EPA says it is considering a way for eligible facilities to keep operating legally during this interim period while protections remain in place.

What EPA says it is considering

In the July 13 announcement, EPA says it is seeking comments on a potential approach that could provide eligible CCR units a simpler, interim path to permit coverage—potentially using a general-permit-style structure.

EPA’s request centers on input about:

• Eligibility criteria for which CCR facilities/units could qualify for the interim pathway.
• Compliance requirements tied to CCR units receiving coverage under the interim (general-permit) framework.
• How interim coverage would work until facilities can move into site-specific permitting as states complete their program updates.

EPA also points to related CCR permitting concepts discussed in its larger 2026 CCR rulemaking activity—such as how site-specific conditions could affect requirements tied to groundwater monitoring and corrective-action points of compliance, cleanup levels, and closure requirements/timeframes.

Who is likely affected

• Electric utilities and CCR operators: permitting timing and the compliance “pathway” matter during transitions.
• State regulators: EPA describes the interim approach as a bridge while states update programs and begin issuing their own permits.
• Communities near CCR sites: the key question is what safeguards attach during interim coverage while site-specific permitting is pending.

Why the July 29 deadline matters—and what to watch in the public record

The practical takeaway for readers is that July 29, 2026 is your window to shape how EPA thinks the interim federal coverage could be structured: who qualifies, what compliance obligations attach, and how the system transitions toward state-issued, site-specific permits.

After comments close, EPA says it will consider the input and could move through the next steps in the rulemaking process. For anyone tracking real-world impacts, watch how EPA refines (1) eligibility and (2) the compliance mechanics it says would apply under any interim general-permit framework.

Sources

• EPA proposed-rule page (Federal CCR permit program — comment deadline context)