FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 9, 2026
CONTACT:
Aaron Bharucha, Public Relations Associate
(509) 429-1699 and epn-press@environmentalprotectionnetwork.org
EPA Rollback Leaves Communities at Greater Risk from Toxic Coal Ash
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Environmental Protection Network issued the following statement today in response to the EPA’s proposed rollbacks to the Coal Combustion Residual (CCR) Requirements. The proposed revisions would weaken oversight of toxic coal ash disposal, raising serious concerns about contamination of drinking water, rivers, and nearby communities already burdened by industrial pollution.
“EPA’s top priority should be protecting people’s health, not sacrificing it for corporate expediency,” said Marc Boom, EPN Senior Director of Public Affairs. “Today’s rollback removes critical safeguards, leaving toxic coal ash in communities longer and placing yet another burden on families to worry about what’s in their water. Letting companies avoid cleaning up waste sites that may be leaching toxic metals into groundwater and nearby waterways, while weakening protections and accountability, is not common sense. EPA may call these safeguards ‘impractical,’ but anyone living downstream of coal ash sites holding thousands of tons of waste knows that requiring cleanup and monitoring is a necessary and basic standard.”
Coal ash contains a number of toxic chemicals, including arsenic, chromium, lead, lithium, and radium — all linked to cancer, heart and thyroid disease, respiratory illness, neurological damage, and other serious health problems. U.S. coal plants continue to produce roughly 70 million tons of coal ash each year that ends up in unlined ponds, landfills, and mines.
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ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION NETWORK
The Environmental Protection Network is a nonpartisan organization comprising more than 750 former EPA scientists, toxicologists, chemists, biologists, engineers, and policy analysts — many of whom spent decades as career experts inside the agency. They assessed cancer and developmental risks, studied links between pollution and fertility and chronic disease, investigated contaminated communities, and brought enforcement actions to hold corporate polluters accountable. EPN was founded in 2017 to serve as an independent voice promoting science-based policies that protect Americans’ health.