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Policy Briefing Release
This morning, IPI released its latest policy briefing, No More Excuses: The Economic Case for Coal Ash Regulation. Last December 1.2 billion gallons of toxic sludge spilled out of a landfill and over 300 acres near Harriman Tennessee. The disaster called the nation's attention to coal ash storage and ignited calls for stronger regulation.
In No More Excuses, author J. Scott Holladay conducts a basic cost-benefit analysis of regulating coal ash storage.
Click here to read the briefing.
The Author
Economic Fellow J. Scott Holladay will be joining IPI in August of 2009. A student of the economics of government policies for over eight years, Holladay researched and wrote No More Excuses over 3 months. Click here for more information on the author.
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FINDINGS FROM NO MORE EXCUSES:
This brief but careful analysis reveals several compelling findings. Among the most notable:
- If coal ash were required to be stored in dry conditions and in synthetically lined, covered facilities many health risks would be avoided in addition to reducing the likelihood of a major spill like the one in Harriman Tennessee.
- In broad strokes, it is clear that the benefits of regulating coal ash storage facilities would far outweigh the costs.
- The benefits of a regulation like the one described above could save tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars per storage facility.
Given this information, our recommendation is that the EPA conduct a more thorough cost-benefit analysis and, assuming their results are similar to ours, promulgate a rule that would require coal ash to be stored in synthetically lined, covered facilities.
Click here to read the full briefing.
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