H.R. 1734 would effectively codify a final rule published in the Federal Register on April 17, 2014, that establishes national management and disposal standards for coal combustion residuals (CCR) under subtitle D of the Solid Waste Disposal Act, also known as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). (CCR consists of inorganic residues that remain after pulverized coal is burned.) Consistent with subtitle D of RCRA, the rule and this legislation would allow states to create and enforce their own CCR permit programs. However, H.R. 1734 would enable the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to directly regulate CCR in any state that fails to set up its own CCR program or in states where EPA determines that the CCR permit program is deficient.
CBO estimates that implementing this legislation would cost $2 million over the 2016-2020 period, subject to the availability of appropriated funds. Enacting H.R. 1734 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
H.R. 1734 would impose an intergovernmental mandate, as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA), because it would require states to notify EPA about whether they will adopt and implement a permit program for CCRs. CBO estimates that the administrative cost of that mandate would be small and would fall well below the annual threshold established in UMRA for intergovernmental mandates ($77 million, adjusted annually for inflation).
The bill contains no private-sector mandates as defined in UMRA.
