[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 117 (Thursday, August 2, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5986-S5987]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. HOEVEN (for himself, Mr. Conrad, Mr. Baucus, Mr. 
        McConnell, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Portman, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Boozman, 
        Mr. Manchin, Mr. Blunt, Mr. Warner, Mr. Johnson of Wisconsin, 
        Mr. Pryor, Mr. Moran, Mrs. McCaskill, Mr. Alexander, Mr. Nelson 
        of Nebraska, Mr. Toomey, Mr. Nelson of Florida, Mr. Graham, Mr. 
        Casey, Mr. Thune, Mr. Webb, and Mr. Hatch):
  S. 3512. A bill to amend subtitle D of the Solid Waste Disposal Act 
to facilitate recovery and beneficial use, and provide for the proper 
management and disposal, of materials generated by the combustion of 
coal and other fossil fuels; to the Committee on Environment and Public 
Works.
  Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation on 
another matter, important energy legislation for our country. I am 
today introducing the Hoeven-Conrad-Baucus Coal Ash Recycling and 
Oversight Act of 2012.
  In my home State of North Dakota there is a large powerplant just 
north of the State capital in Bismarck. It is a coal creek power 
station. Now this power station generates 1,100 megawatts of 
electricity every year. There are two 550 megawatt plants. It has the 
latest, greatest technology emission control and clean coal technology. 
They capture the steam that was formally exhausted from the plant. They 
capture that steam and use it to run an ethanol plant. They produce 
transportation fuel with steam, a by-product of the electric generation 
process.
  One of the other things they do, instead of land filling the coal 
ash, fly ash, or coal residuals, they recycle. So, in essence, they 
take that coal ash--they work with a natural resource company, 
Headwaters, based out of Utah, and they turn the coal ash into a 
concrete product, FlexCrete. It is used to make roads, bridges, 
buildings, and also products like shingles. They make building 
materials.
  So whereas they used to take about 600,000 tons a year of coal 
residuals and coal ash flash and landfill it, and it costs $6 a ton or 
so to landfill it, now they take that 600,000 tons a year of fly ash 
and residuals and turn it into building products.
  The difference instead of paying to dispose of something and now 
being paid to recycle something is about a $16 million a year revenue 
item for that plant. That means lower cost for electricity for 
businesses in States such as the great State of North Dakota and the 
great State of Minnesota and other States as well. It truly benefits 
our consumers, our families, and our economy. It benefits small 
businesses throughout the upper Midwest. So it is truly a great example 
of American ingenuity and innovation.

[[Page S5987]]

  In fact, I have a picture right here. This is the North Dakota 
Heritage Center. Right now there is a $50 million expansion being 
constructed in that Heritage Center which is located on the capital 
grounds in Bismarck. It is a $50 million expansion. They are using 
building materials made of coal ash for this facility. That is what it 
is going to look like after they do this $50 million expansion.
  Let me give another example. This is the National Energy Center of 
Excellence at Bismarck State College. It is a 2-year college that 
trains people for the energy industry. It is located right above the 
Missouri River. This beautiful window overlooks the Missouri River. 
Again this is a building constructed with building materials made of 
fly ash. We can see how this product is being used and how effectively 
this is being used.
  As a matter of fact, if we look nationwide, by recycling coal ash we 
reduce energy consumption by 162 trillion Btus every year. That is the 
amount of energy we would use to 1.7 million homes in a year. It is 
pretty substantial energy savings. Or measure it in terms of water use. 
By recycling coal ash, we reduce water usage by 32 billion gallons 
annually. That is about one-third of the total amount of water that the 
State of California uses in a year.
  Why do I tell the story? Because right now the EPA is looking at 
changing the regulation of coal ash. They are looking at changing the 
regulation of coal ash to doing it under subtitle C of the Resource 
Conservation and Recovery Act. The problem is that is the hazardous 
waste section. Right now coal ash is regulated under subtitle D of the 
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, which is the nonhazardous waste 
section. The EPA is looking at making that change in spite of the fact 
that the Department of Energy, the Federal Highway Administration, 
State regulatory agencies, and the EPA itself have done studies, and 
those studies have shown that is not a toxic waste.
  The EPA first proposed this new regulation in June of 2010. This 
regulation would truly undermine the industry, drive up costs, and 
eliminate jobs when our economy can least afford it. In fact, according 
to industry estimates, it would increase electricity costs by up to 
almost $50 billion annually and eliminate 300,000 American jobs.
  Let me elaborate. Meeting the regulatory disposal requirements under 
the EPA's subtitle C proposal would cost between $250 and $450 per ton 
as opposed to about $100 per ton under the current system. That would 
translate into $47 billion in terms of burden on electricity generators 
that use coal and, of course, most importantly, their customers who 
would see their bills increased. As I said, overall it would cost about 
300,000 American jobs for our economy.
  That is why I am introducing the Hoeven-Conrad-Baucus Recycling and 
Oversight Act, which is S. 3512, and it has very strong bipartisan 
support. It is truly a bipartisan bill, including 12 Republican 
sponsors and 12 Democratic sponsors. The Republican sponsors include 
myself, Senator McConnell, Senator Portman, Senator Boozman, Senator 
Blunt, Senator Ron Johnson, Senator Moran, Senator Alexander, Senator 
Toomey, Senator Graham, Senator Thune, and Senator Hatch. The 
Democratic cosponsors include Senator Conrad, Senator Baucus, Senator 
Kohl, Senator Landrieu, Senator Manchin, Senator Warner, Senator Pryor, 
Senator McCaskill, Senator Ben Nelson, Senator Bill Nelson, Senator 
Casey, and Senator Webb. I wish to thank them for their willingness to 
join together in a bipartisan way--12 Republicans, 12 Democrats--coming 
together to provide the kind of energy legislation that is going to 
truly help move this country forward, empowering not only more energy 
development but better environmental stewardship.

  This legislation is similar to H.R. 2273, which was sponsored by 
Representative David McKinley of West Virginia in the House, and it 
passed the House with strong bipartisan support. This legislation is 
very similar. We have made some enhancements, but it is very similar.
  The bill not only preserves coal ash recycling by preventing these 
by-products from being treated as hazardous, it also establishes--and 
this is important because it is also about good environmental 
stewardship--it also establishes comprehensive Federal standards for 
coal ash disposal. Under this legislation, States can set up their own 
permitting program for the management and the disposal of coal ash. 
These programs would be required to be based on existing EPA 
regulations that protect human health and the environment. If a State 
does not implement an acceptable permitting program, then EPA regulates 
the program for the State. As a result, States and industry will know 
where they stand under the bill, since the benchmarks for what 
constitutes a successful State program will be set in statute. EPA can 
say yes, the State does meet those standards, or no, it does not, but 
the EPA cannot move the goalposts.
  This is a States-first approach that provides regulatory certainty. 
Let me repeat that. This is a States-first approach that provides 
regulatory certainty, and it is that regulatory certainty we need to 
stimulate private investment that will deploy the new technologies that 
will not only produce more energy but will produce better environmental 
stewardship.
  What is certain is that under this bill, coal ash disposal sites will 
be required to meet established standards. Those established standards 
include groundwater detection and monitoring, liners, corrective action 
when environmental damage occurs, structural stability criteria, and 
the financial assurance and recordkeeping needed to protect the public.
  This legislation is needed to protect jobs and help reduce the cost 
of homes and roads as well as to help reduce electric bills.
  I wish to thank both Republicans and Democrats who have taken a 
leadership role in this effort as original sponsors of the legislation. 
I especially wish to express thanks to my fellow Senator from North 
Dakota, Mr. Conrad, as well as Senator Baucus of Montana and their 
staffs for the hard work that has gone into this legislation. I urge 
our colleagues to join us in this important energy legislation.
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