Environmental and public health groups are filing a lawsuit against the EPA to force them to finish a rulemaking process and finalize safeguards against toxic coal ash. Coal ash is the byproduct of coal-fired power plants and includes many dangerous pollutants.  In thirty years, the EPA has not updated its waste disposal and control standards for coal ash.  And, recent EPA data showed that 29 power plants have contaminated the groundwater near coal ash dump sites.

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act requires the EPA to regularly update safeguards, but the EPA has never done this regarding coal ash.  The lawsuit would force the EPA to set deadlines for review and revision of coal ash waste safeguards.  Furthermore, it claims that the EPA has a responsibility to protect us from these threats to our health, and they are not performing their duties.