EPA Proposes Alabama CCR Permit Program Approval Under RCRA
EPA proposed on July 14, 2026 to approve Alabama’s partial Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) permit program under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) submitted its program application on May 18, 2026, and EPA has preliminarily determined that it meets the RCRA standard for approval. The full Federal Register notice lays out the proposal and the basis for EPA’s preliminary determination.
What EPA Proposed
- Partial program approval: Alabama applied for approval of a partial CCR permit program, meaning certain provisions of the federal CCR program would continue to apply. The notice identifies which provisions Alabama’s program would cover and which remain federal.
- Operation in lieu of the federal rule: If approved, Alabama’s permit program would operate in lieu of the federal CCR program, with the exception of the specific provisions carved out in the proposal.
- Preliminary determination: EPA reviewed ADEM’s application and preliminarily found that the state program meets the RCRA approval standard. This is a proposal, not a final approval.
What this means in practice: CCR units in Alabama would move from self-implementing federal requirements to ADEM-issued permits as the primary compliance vehicle, with EPA retaining an oversight role.
Why State CCR Approvals Matter for Site Work
Groundwater Monitoring and Corrective Action at CCR Units
Under the self-implementing federal CCR framework, owners and operators make their own compliance determinations for groundwater monitoring, assessment of corrective measures, and closure without an agency permit driving the schedule. An approved state program replaces that structure with permit conditions and direct agency review. Consultants running groundwater statistics, assessment monitoring, or corrective measures evaluations at Alabama CCR units would work under ADEM permit terms once the approval is final.
The Broader Approval Trend
This proposal follows EPA’s earlier proposal to approve Virginia’s CCR permit program. More states seeking program approval means CCR compliance is increasingly state-specific, and consultants working across state lines need to confirm which framework governs each unit before scoping monitoring or closure work.
Ohio note: Ohio does not have an EPA-approved CCR permit program. CCR units in Ohio remain subject to the self-implementing federal CCR requirements, and nothing in the Alabama proposal changes that.
What to Watch
EPA is taking public comment on the proposed approval; the Federal Register notice states the comment deadline and instructions for submitting comments. Watch for EPA’s final decision and, in particular, the final list of provisions that remain under federal authority rather than ADEM’s program. Because the approval is partial, the split between state and federal requirements will matter for anyone scoping compliance work at Alabama CCR units.
Bottom Line
EPA has proposed, not finalized, approval of Alabama’s partial CCR permit program, based on ADEM’s May 18, 2026 application. If finalized, ADEM permits would govern most CCR compliance in Alabama in lieu of the self-implementing federal rule, continuing the shift toward state-run coal ash permitting. For background on how federal RCRA permitting and corrective action work, see our program overviews.