The EPA yesterday held its first of seven public hearings on the proposed rules to govern the handling and disposal of fly ash. The hearing was held in Arlington, Va., and was covered fairly widely by the news media. Here’s what a couple of the reports had to say:

From Dow Jones Newswires

Cement companies and coal ash companies are fighting attempts by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to regulate ash from coal-fired power plants as hazardous waste.

At a public hearing Monday, held in Arlington, Va., these companies said a hazardous-waste designation would dissuade companies from recycling the ash and using it in cement, drywall and other products.

Instead, the companies urged EPA to pursue a more lenient approach as it develops coal-ash rules and to avoid the hazardous-waste designation.

Such a designation “will have a stigma (effect) on the beneficial use of concrete,” said David Brinkley, director of logistics at the Roanoke Cement Company LLC.

Separation Technologies LLC President John Borders meanwhile urged the EPA to pursue “thoughtful action” and said coal-ash recycling represented one of the most successful displays of reuse in the country.

From the Knoxvlle News Sentinel:

Environmental activists urged the federal government Monday to regulate toxic ash from coal-fired power plants as hazardous waste, arguing that federal standards are necessary because the states have done a poor job of regulating coal-ash disposal.

But road builders and other industries that use recycled coal ash in concrete, cement and other construction materials argued that labeling coal ash as a hazardous substance would devastate the recycling businesses. Furthermore, they said, there is no scientific proof that coal ash is a danger to the public health.

“We hope you will rule on science, not science fiction or political science,” said Thomas Adams of the American Coal Ash Association.

Time and again, the starkly contrasting views about the dangers and benefits of coal ash played out like a point/counterpoint debate during the opening hearing on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to set federal standards for coal ash disposal.