Dec 20, 2014:

Yesterday, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy signed the "Hazardous and Solid Waste Management System; Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals from Electric Utilities" final rule (this is a prepublication version of the rule, the final version of which will soon be filed in the Federal Register).

In a nutshell, the EPA concluded that coal ash must be safely managed and disposed of, but it is not classified as hazardous waste.

The EPA's investigation into coal ash surface impoundments and coal ash management was prompted by a December 22, 2008 coal ash spill at the Tennessee Valley Authority power plant in Kingston, Tennessee. That spill flooded more than 300 acres of land and released coal ash into the Emory and Clinch rivers.

Source:

(December 19, 2014). "2014 Final Rule: Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals from Electric Utilities". United States Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved 2014-12-20.

Koch, Wendy. (December 19, 2014). "EPA Decides That Coal Ash, Which Pervades Our Homes, Is Non-Hazardous". National Geographic. Retrieved 2014-12-20.

More:

• New EPA Standards Label Toxic Coal Ash Non-Hazardous | NPR
• EPA Releases Long-Anticipated Rules For Disposal Of Coal Ash | The Huffington Post
• Unlined and Dangerous: Duke Energy's 32 Coal Ash Ponds in North Carolina Pose a Threat to Groundwater | National Geographic
• Summary of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act | EPA