EPA backs Indiana coal combustion residual program takeover

Indiana’s proposed takeover of toxic coal byproduct permits is ready for approval, federal officials announced Tuesday. If finalized, the program would be the largest in the country.

“Giving states the lead … helps ensure that those who understand local conditions the best, and their local energy needs, are in the driver’s seat to oversee the process,” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Deputy Administrator David Fotouhi told reporters at an Indianapolis news conference.

Coal combustion residuals, or CCR, are primarily produced by burning coal in power plants.

The powdery fly ash, glassy boiler slag and other byproducts contain dangerous contaminants like mercury, cadmium and arsenic.

The EPA regulates CCR disposal in most states. Under President Donald Trump, the agency is increasingly encouraging states to take responsibility instead. Indiana is the 10th state with proposed or final approval for CCR disposal units, according to the EPA.

Fotouhi and state leaders maintained the move would improve health and environmental results.

“Let me be very clear: this step reinforces, not weakens, safeguards for human health and the environment,” Fotouhi said. “It allows Hoosiers to decide what is best for Indiana.”

Gov. Mike Braun similarly said Indiana’s approach “strengthens environmental safeguards and keeps permitting decisions here at home,” adding that a state-run program will offer “greater control, transparency, and accountability in how coal ash is managed.”

“Our program gives us stronger tools to prevent groundwater contamination, protecting drinking water where these impoundments are, and it gives us agility in terms of staying on top of it,” he said, but didn’t offer examples.

Braun last year issued an executive order banning new state environmental regulations that are more stringent than federal versions unless explicitly required by law or deemed necessary by the governor’s office. Such “no more stringent than” limits are also scattered through Indiana law.

Asked how the state would improve outcomes given those restrictions, Braun responded, “To just assume that there would be anything being laxed or done at a lower level of concern or quality would be a bad assumption.”

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management would oversee the CCR program. The agency estimates that 100 CCR units across Indiana would require permitting under the proposed rule.

The takeover has been in the works for years.

IDEM staff wrote the regulations between 2021 and 2024, and the Indiana Environmental Rules Board gave final approval in late 2025, according to slides presented at the board’s August meeting. The program includes requirements for design, operation, groundwater monitoring, closure, recordkeeping and financial assurance, according to a news release.

The state submitted its CCR application t0 the EPA in June. The proposed rule will be published in the federal register on Wednesday, kicking off a 60-day public comment period.

IDEM anticipates federal approval as soon as February or March, according to the slides.

Once approved, CCR units have 180 days after the new program goes into effect to submit applications for permits. IDEM will have to approve or deny applications for new CCR units or major changes within one year. Minor changes have a 180-day deadline for the agency.

The state program will come with an estimated $1.3 million in personnel costs — inspectors, engineers, geologists and more — along with equipment, training and conference expenses.

IDEM is already “moving forward with staffing,” per Braun.

The program will mostly be funded by permit fees, with supplemental income from federal grants and state coffers, IDEM Commissioner Clint Woods said.

“I think we will continue to advocate with EPA to ensure (that), because we have the biggest program in the country, that resources ought to come to us, and we ought to get our fair share,” Woods said. “… In the past, those have been divided for states that have a lot fewer coal combustion residual sites. … Insofar as there are federal resources available, we’ll continue to advocate that Indiana needs to be at the front of the line, considering how robust and well-run this program will be.”