### Western Governors' Association Policy Resolution 10-1
The Regulation of Coal Combustion Byproducts

A. BACKGROUND

1. Some manufacturing industries located in the West rely on coal combustion byproducts (CCB) and these industries pr ovide critical economical vi ability to those states.

2. The 1980 Bevill Amendment to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) prohibited the U.S. Environmental Protecti on Agency (US EPA) from regulating CCB as a hazardous waste under RCRA Subtitle C unt il after it "conduct[s] a detailed and comprehensive study and submit[s] a report" to Congress on the "adverse effects on human health and the environment, if any, of the disposal and utilization" of fly ash, bottom ash, slag, flue gas emission cont rol wastes, and other byproducts from the combustion of coal and other fossil fuels to determine whether such regulation is warranted, including "consider[ing] actions of state and other fede ral agencies with a view to avoiding duplication of effort”.

3. US EPA conducted the comprehensive studies required by the Bevill Amendment and reported its findings to Congress on March 8, 1988, and March 31, 1999, and in both Reports recommended that CCB not be re gulated as hazar dous waste under RCRA Subtitle C.

4. Based on its reports to Congress, US EPA pub lished its final regulatory determinations required by the Bevill Amendment for CCB and concluded on both occasions, first on August 9, 1993, and again on May 22, 2000, that fossil fuel combustion wastes, including CCB, “do not warrant regulation [as hazardous waste] under Subtitle C of RCRA” and that “the regulatory infrastructure is gene rally in place at the st ate level to ensure adequate management of these wastes” under state non-hazardous waste programs. Despite these earlier reports and findings, last year US EPA started internal discussions regarding reversing course and looking at regulating coal com bustion byproducts as hazardous waste.

5. CCB disposal has remained a state regulat ory responsibility th roughout the regulatory process and states have developed and impl emented regulatory programs to safely and effectively manage CCB under solid waste ma nagement, groundwater protection or coal mine reclamation programs.

B. GOVERNORS’ POLICY STATEMENT

1. Regulation of CCB as hazardous waste has the potential to needlessly impact businesses and jobs associated with putting CCB to beneficial use.‐ 2 ‐ 2. A portion of the coal-fired electric genera tion in the WGA states could be negatively affected if acceptable beneficial use of CC B is disallowed. Ratepayers and small businesses already coping with a down economy could see higher electric bills as a result.

3. Many western states rely upon CCB for road cons truction and other beneficial uses. The designation of CCB as hazardous waste may elim inate the beneficial use of CCB in road construction and other applications, increasi ng costs to state DOTs and ultimately to our citizens.

4. The federal regulation of CCB as hazardous wa ste would undercut existing and effective state regulatory authority re sulting in additional and unwa rranted regulatory programs and would add costly burdens to states’ budgets that are already signi ficantly strained. States should review their existing regulations of CCB and make any changes necessary in light of the 2008 TVA impoundment pond failure.

5. Western Governors agree with US EPA’s 1993 and 2000 regulatory determinations that CCB do not warrant regulation as hazardous wastes and that th e western states have an effective regulatory infrastructure in place to continue as the principal regulatory authorities to ensure protection of human health and the environment through the safe and secure management of CCB under state so lid waste, groundwater protection and coal mine regulatory programs.

C. GOVERNORS’ MANAGEMENT DIRECTIVE

1. This resolution is to be transmitted to the President of the United States and the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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The Western Governors' Association is an in dependent, nonprofit organization representing the governors of 19 states and three U.S.-Flag islands in the Pacific. Through their Association,

Western governors identify and address key policy and governance issues in natural resources, the environment, human services, economic development, international relations and public management.