Coal combustion residuals (CCRs) are the inorganic material that remains after pulverized coal is burned. To establish consistent national standards to address potential threats to human health and the environment associated with improper management of CCRs destined for disposal, on June 21, 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed for public comment two regulatory options applicable to the material. Under the first proposal, EPA would reverse previous regulatory determinations to exempt CCRs from regulation as a hazardous waste and list the material as a "special waste" pursuant to its authorities under Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA; 42 U.S.C. §6901 et seq.). Under Subtitle C, EPA has broad authority to regulate wastes it identifies as "hazardous," from its generation to its ultimate disposal (i.e., from "cradle to grave"). Under its Subtitle C option, EPA would require CCRs destined for disposal in a landfill or surface impoundment to be managed in accordance with requirements or standards applicable to hazardous waste generators; owners and operators of hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities (TSDF); and TSDF permit programs. The Subtitle C option would create federal standards enforceable by EPA, but likely adopted and implemented (and ultimately enforced) by individual states. Under the second proposal, EPA would promulgate national standards applicable to landfills and surface impoundments that receive CCRs, in accordance with its authority regarding the management of non-hazardous solid waste under Subtitle D of RCRA. If this option were selected, the standards would be similar to those applicable to municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills, but would take into consideration issues specific to the management of CCRs, particularly controls necessary to address the accumulation of liquid wastes in surface impoundments. In contrast to its Subtitle C option, EPA has no authority to enforce the standards it proposes under the Subtitle D option. EPA is authorized to promulgate federally enforceable waste management criteria only for MSW landfills and no other facilities that may receive non-hazardous solid wastes. Instead, EPA could finalize the proposed Subtitle D standards, but they would be enforced by states that choose to adopt and apply them to owners and operators of CCR landfills and surface impoundments. EPA's proposal drew comments from industry groups, environmental and citizen groups, state agency representatives, individual citizens, and some Members of Congress. Concerns over the Subtitle C proposal relate to its ultimate impact in terms of implementation costs to both industry and states, energy prices, and CCR recycling opportunities. With regard to the Subtitle D proposal, the primary concerns stem from EPA's lack of authority to enforce them. Given the argument by many states that the material is being managed sufficiently under current state regulatory programs, environmental and citizen groups have expressed doubts over the degree to which all states would adopt them, resulting in the promulgation but not implementation of any new requirements necessary to ensure protection of human health and the environment. Commenters have proposed various legislative options in response to the varied concerns over EPA's proposed regulatory options. Possible legislative options that have been debated include an explicit directive to EPA to regulate or prohibit CCR regulation under Subtitle C or Subtitle D. Another legislative option, the Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act ( H.R. 2273 ), was passed by the House on October 14, 2011, and introduced in the Senate ( S. 1751 ) on October 20, 2011. The proposal would amend Subtitle D of RCRA by adding Section 4011, Management and Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals. That amendment would create a coal combustion residuals permit program, defined as "a permit program or other system of prior approval and conditions that is adopted by or for a state for the management and disposal of coal combustion residuals to the extent such activities occur in structures in such state." Legislative provisions largely identical to those in the Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act are included in legislation that would extend the authorization of federal funding for surface transportation programs administered by the Department of Transportation (DOT). Specifically, Title V of H.R. 4348 (passed in the House on April 18, 2012) includes language identical to H.R. 2273 and S. 1751 . On April 24, 2012, the Senate agreed by unanimous consent to an amendment that struck the House-passed language from H.R. 4348 and substituted the language of the Senate-passed bill to reauthorize DOT programs ( S. 1813 , the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21 st Century Act, or MAP-21). The Senate subsequently asked for a conference and appointed conferees. As a result, provisions of the proposed Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act are being debated in the conference over the transportation reauthorization legislation. This report provides background information concerning the provisions in the proposed Section 4011 of RCRA in H.R. 2273 , S. 1751 , and Title V of H.R. 4348 . In particular, it identifies issues associated with potential state adoption and implementation of the proposed CCR permit program. Unique to the proposal would be the creation of a permit program in federal statute, absent the promulgation of related federally enforceable standards. Requirements applicable to the program's adoption and implementation would be those created within the amendment to RCRA. It would not authorize the agency with jurisdiction over RCRA's implementation (EPA) to promulgate regulations detailing permit program requirements or regulations applicable to facilities that may be expected to obtain a permit pursuant to the program. Instead, requirements applicable to the proposed statutory CCR permit program would draw upon selected existing regulations promulgated pursuant to Subtitle D applicable to the management of municipal solid waste (MSW). It would also draw from selected elements of EPA's June 2010 Subtitle D proposal to regulate CCR landfills and surface impoundments. Considering their influence on the potential adoption and implementation of a CCR permit program, this report identifies relevant elements of proposed and existing regulatory requirements under Subtitle D. In particular, the report distinguishes between EPA and state agency authorities in regulating nonhazardous solid wastes under Subtitle D, including EPA's role in developing and individual state roles in enforcing those requirements. The report also summarizes selected MSW landfill regulations and standards proposed by EPA in June 2010 under Subtitle D. Finally, with regard to the legislative proposals that would amend Subtitle D, the report summarizes provisions in the proposed Section 4011 of RCRA; identifies potential issues associated with implementing a statutory permit program; and compares details of the regulatory requirements applicable to MSW landfills, on which the legislative proposal is based, to comparable elements of the proposed CCR permit program. As noted above, the focus of this report is the legislative proposal to amend Subtitle D of RCRA and the CCR permit program that would be created pursuant to the proposed amendment. Analysis specific to EPA's June 2010 proposal and details regarding the options it proposed under Subtitles C and D of RCRA are discussed separately in CRS Report R41341, EPA's Proposal to Regulate Coal Combustion Waste Disposal: Issues for Congress , by [author name scrubbed]. In 2010, 45% of the electricity generated in the United States used coal as its source of fuel. Pulverized coal burned for electricity production generates a tremendous amount of residual inorganic material. In 2010, industry estimates that as much as 130 million tons of CCRs were generated, making it one of the largest waste streams in the United States. Disposal of CCRs on-site at individual power plants may involve decades-long accumulation of waste—with hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of tons of dry ash (in a landfill) or wet ash slurry (in a surface impoundment pond) deposited at the site. On December 22, 2008, national attention was turned to risks associated with managing such large volumes of CCRs when a breach in a surface impoundment pond at the Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA's) Kingston, TN, plant released 1.1 billion gallons of coal fly ash slurry, covering more than 300 acres, damaging or destroying homes and property. TVA estimates that cleanup will continue into 2014 and will cost $1.2 billion. The incident at Kingston, as well as smaller incidents that resulted from improper CCR management, drew attention to the potential for a sudden, catastrophic release related to the structural failure of a surface impoundment. However, EPA has determined that a more common threat associated with CCR management is the leaching of contaminants likely present in the waste, primarily heavy metals, resulting in surface or groundwater contamination. The Kingston release also brought attention to the fact that the management of CCRs is essentially unregulated at the federal level. CCRs are the inorganic residues that remain after pulverized coal is burned. The chemical composition of CCRs generated at a given plant depends on the type and source of the coal burned, as well as the combustion technology and air pollution control technology used at the plant. In data maintained by EPA, the agency has identified more than 40 toxic constituents that may be present in CCRs, including antimony, arsenic, barium, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, and selenium. The fact that toxic constituents are present in a waste does not in itself mean that it poses a risk to humans or the environment. The degree to which there is actual risk depends on whether those constituents can find a pathway of human exposure and whether the resulting level of exposure is likely to be high enough to cause harm.