EPA moves on coal ash and phthalates

The Environmental Protection Agency is moving in two directions at once: loosening some coal-ash disposal rules while preparing chemical controls for five phthalates used in factories and building products. (epa.gov) Coal ash is the powder and sludge left after coal is burned at power plants. On April 9, 2026, the agency proposed exempting some ash uses in cement kilns and wallboard from federal coal-ash rules and dropping a case-by-case environmental showing for some large non-roadway uses. (epa.gov) The proposal also reaches beyond recycling. The Environmental Protection Agency said permit writers could make site-specific calls on groundwater monitoring points, cleanup levels for some pollutants, closure requirements, and closure timelines at coal-ash units. (federalregister.gov) The coal-ash rule is open for public comment until June 12, 2026, and the agency scheduled a virtual hearing for May 28, 2026. It also proposed rescinding all coal combustion residual management unit requirements, a part of the broader ash rule that governs certain inactive disposal areas. (federalregister.gov) Phthalates are chemicals added to plastics to make them bend instead of crack. The Environmental Protection Agency says they are used in products such as adhesives, sealants, paints, coatings, floor coverings, and other industrial materials. (epa.gov) On December 31, 2025, the agency released final risk evaluations for five phthalates — butyl benzyl phthalate, dibutyl phthalate, dicyclohexyl phthalate, diethylhexyl phthalate, and diisobutyl phthalate — and said each poses unreasonable risk in specific uses. Under the Toxic Substances Control Act, that finding triggers a requirement to start risk-management action. (epa.gov) (federalregister.gov) The agency said the phthalate risks it found were concentrated in workplaces and some environmental releases, not in every use. Its public summary says the five evaluations identified unreasonable risks for workers, mainly from inhalation during spray applications and manufacturing processes, and for aquatic life from some industrial releases. (epa.gov) That split explains why the two actions can land in the same week without pointing in the same policy direction. One proposal would make it easier to move some coal ash into cement, agriculture, and wallboard markets, while the phthalate findings set up future restrictions on specific industrial uses of chemicals already common in construction and manufacturing supply chains. (epa.gov 1) (epa.gov 2) The next step is not immediate bans or instant deregulation. The coal-ash changes are still a proposal, and the phthalate findings move the Environmental Protection Agency into the rule-writing phase where it must decide what limits, worker protections, or use restrictions to propose. (federalregister.gov 1) (federalregister.gov 2)