By Gavin Bade

September 15, 2017 - The Environmental Protection Agency will reconsider portions of an Obama-era rule setting standards for the disposal of coal ash from power plants, the agency announced Thursday. 

Power generators asked the EPA in May to reconsider portions of the 2014 Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) rule. EPA did not commit to rewriting any portion, but said in a release that it is in the "public’s interest to reconsider specific provisions."

The CCR rule is the nation's first federal oversight for the disposal of coal ash. Environmental groups decried the move, calling it a "ploy to scrap the protections entirely."

Announced in late 2014, the EPA's coal ash rule pleased neither power generators nor environmental advocates. 

The rule set the first federal standards for coal ash disposal, but classified the substance as a solid waste, as opposed to hazardous waste, under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The former designation includes less stringent disposal requirements. 

The rule is also self-implementing, meaning the federal government cannot enforce the regulations itself. Instead, the rule sets directives for utilities to follow and relies on private groups to take action against companies that do not comply. 

Those details angered environmentalists, but power generators still argued the rule was too stringent. In May, the Utility Solid Waste Activities Group (USWAG) said approaching compliance deadlines were forcing companies to make "irreversible and tremendously significant long-term business and operational decisions," including pulling coal plants offline.

On Thursday, the EPA granted USWAG's petition, saying it would reconsider portions of the rule. But the agency stopped short of committing to rewrite any section of the regulation.

“EPA is not committing to changing any part of the rule, or agreeing with the merits of the petition – the Agency is simply granting petitions to reconsider specific provisions,” officials said in a statement.

The decision came before opening arguments at the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in a case challenging the rule. Both environmental and industry groups have filed lawsuits. EPA's move prompted environmental groups to argue the review is actually an attempt to eliminate the rule altogether. With the regulation under review, judges could suspend compliance deadlines for utilities.

"The new clean water protections Pruitt is aiming to 'reconsider' are the first substantive step EPA has taken toward reining in pollution from coal ash," the Sierra Club said in a statement. "Pruitt’s decision to 'reconsider' the protections jeopardizes the safety of those communities that depend on waterways and groundwater supplies near where coal ash pits are located."