This story is part of our Quick Hits series. This series will bring you breaking news and short updates from throughout the state.
Wyoming is closer to getting the green light from the feds to manage waste from coal-fired power plants.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve the state Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) 2023 request to oversee the coal combustion residuals (CCR) program. The EPA said its sign off would make Wyoming the fifth state in the U.S. to have an approved CCR permit program.
Coal combustion residuals come in the form of coal ash, boiler slag and more. It’s one of the largest types of industrial waste made in the country and contains pollutants like mercury, cadmium and arsenic. It can be reused or landfilled.
The EPA will begin accepting public comments on its proposed approval for 60 days once it’s published in the Federal Register. The agency will also hold a hybrid in-person and online public hearing on Oct. 30 starting at 8:30 a.m. at the Wyoming State Capitol in the Wind River Basin Room. Those wishing to offer oral testimony during the hearing need to sign up by Oct. 27.
Government and industry leaders cheered the step forward at a ceremony at the state Capitol on Aug. 28.
“The EPA’s announcement recognizes the stellar work that the State of Wyoming and the dedicated staff of our Department of Environmental Quality have achieved in this area,” said Gov. Mark Gordon in a statement. “The environment, industry, and Wyoming will all benefit from this proposal. I appreciate EPA Administrator Zeldin and Region 8 Administrator Western’s efforts making this a priority in the first year of the Trump Administration.”
“Local oversight means decisions can be made with greater efficiency, open discussions, and responsiveness,” said Basin Electric’s Laramie River Station Plant Manager, Levi Mickelsen. “Basin Electric and WYDEQ have a proven record of balancing energy development with environmental responsibility, and this proposal strengthens that commitment for years to come."
“Today's approval of Wyoming's coal combustion residuals program is a win for cooperative federalism. By empowering state experts who know their communities best, we're advancing smart permitting reform and helping unleash American energy responsibly while giving industry the regulatory certainty needed to invest and create jobs,” said EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. “This collaborative approach, states and EPA working as partners, is how we'll Power the Great American Comeback."
But Lisa Evans, senior counsel at Earthjustice, says the Trump administration is rubber-stamping Wyoming’s program, adding it’ll allow coal ash pollution to run amok.
"Wyoming has two of the most polluted coal plants in the country and both are already violating federal rules,” Evans said in a statement. “The state has done nothing to stop the toxic coal ash contamination that we’ve been raising the red flag about for years. I have zero confidence the State of Wyoming will do a good job with this new authority it’s seeking after watching them sit on their hands while coal plants in their backyard leach chemicals into the state’s water.
"Today’s announcement is part of EPA’s broader plan to let polluters off the hook for the toxic mess they’ve created at coal plants throughout the nation,” she said.
The announcement comes as electricity suppliers in Wyoming are moving away from coal. Rocky Mountain Power, a subsidiary of PacifiCorp, plans to convert coal-burning units at the Dave Johnston power plant in Glenrock to natural gas or retire them. The company’s Jim Bridger plant near Rock Springs already converted half its coal units last year, and the other two are expected to be retrofitted with carbon capture technology within the decade. The Naughton plant near Kemmerer is set to be entirely off coal by the end of this year and is switching to natural gas by May 1, 2026. The Wyodak plant was previously set to retire by 2039, but it no longer has a closure date.
At the same time, the Trump administration is reopening the Powder River Basin to new coal leasing, recently approved an 850-acre expansion at the Antelope Mine in Campbell and Converse counties, and is working to approve another expansion at the Black Butte Mine in Sweetwater County.
