"RALEIGH — New coal ash regulations issued by the Obama administration last month are not expected to greatly impact North Carolina, where the state law passed in the wake of February's massive Dan River spill generally exceeds the federal requirements.

The long-awaited rules announced Dec. 19 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are the first nationwide standards on the disposal of coal ash, the waste left over when coal is burned to generate electricity. The ash contains low but potentially harmful levels of such toxic chemicals as arsenic, mercury, chromium and thallium.

The new standards treat coal ash as a non-hazardous solid waste, triggering disposal requirements like those applied to household garbage and kitchen scraps."

Michael Biesecker reports for the Associated Press January 4, 2015. [2]