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H.R. 1734: Improving Coal Combustion Residuals Regulation Act of 2015

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H.R. 1734: Improving Coal Combustion Residuals Regulation Act of 2015

114th Congress · introduced 2015-04-13 · Environmental Protection · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2015-04-13 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Rep. McKinley, David B. [R-WV-1] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: 6 recorded votes in our records. Latest: House roll call 453 (2015): On Agreeing to the Amendment, HR1734 (2015-07-22), Failed. See all
  4. Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Improving Coal Combustion Residuals Regulation Act of 2015

Plain summary

Improving Coal Combustion Residuals Regulation Act of 2015 (Sec. 2) This bill amends subtitle D (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act to establish a permit program for coal combustion residuals (coal ash) that states may elect to administer. The program outlines the criteria that a state must use if it chooses to adopt and enforce a permit program regulating the management and disposal of coal ash generated by electric utilities and independent power producers. The program applies to the disposal of coal ash into landfills or surface impoundments, sand or gravel pits, quarries, or lateral expansions of the structures. The structural criteria concern: (1) design, location, and integrity; (2) financial assurance; (3) groundwater and surface water protections; (4) closure procedures; and (5) air quality with respect to fugitive dust. In order to adopt or implement a permit program, the lead state implementing agency must maintain a program for control of hazardous waste disposal in open dumps or an authorized state hazardous waste program under the Solid Waste Disposal Act. The implementing agency must ensure that certain information concerning the program is publicly available. A state that chooses to adopt a coal ash program is given sole enforcement authority. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must implement a program for a state if: (1) a state's program fails to meet those criteria, or (2) a state does not implement a program. A coal ash permit program implemented by the EPA shall not apply to the utilization, placement, and storage of coal ash at surface or underground coal mining and reclamation operations. Certain uses of coal ash are not considered as receipt of such material for purposes of this bill. These include uses for engineered structural fill, storage in a manner consistent with the management of raw materials, and such beneficial uses as substitution for virgin material (in which case the use must be shown to not result in environmental releases greater than those from a material or product that would be used instead of the coal ash or exceed relevant benchmarks for human and ecological receptors). The bill revises implementation of the EPA rule governing the disposal of coal ash, entitled "Hazardous and Solid Waste Management System; Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals from Electric Utilities." The rule may be implemented only through the permit program established by the bill.

Congressional Research Service summary (Passed House amended), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Improving Coal Combustion Residuals Regulation Act of 2015

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Passed House amended)

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The strongest published arguments

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. McKinley, David B. [R-WV-1] · 44 cosponsors

Cost estimate: CBO cost estimate: H.R. 1734, Improving Coal Combustion Residuals Regulation Act of 2015 (2015-04-29)

Cosponsors on this site

Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Brett Guthrie (R-KY), Bill Huizenga (R-MI), Andy Barr (R-KY), Mike Kelly (R-PA), Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (D-GA), Cynthia M. Lummis (R-WY), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Robert E. Latta (R-OH), Steve Womack (R-AR), Gus M. Bilirakis (R-FL), Paul A. Gosar (R-AZ), Harold Rogers (R-KY), Mike Bost (R-IL), Mike Rogers (R-AL), Pete Sessions (R-TX)

Recorded votes

Words on this page, explained (3)
Authorization
A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Bill
A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Rulemaking
The process agencies use to write regulations that carry out laws passed by Congress or a legislature. Usually an agency publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments, then publishes a final rule.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong114-hr1734 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong114 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong114