NEW YORK -The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced competing proposals to regulate coal-ash waste Tuesday, deciding not to choose a single option amid pressure from industry and environmental groups.

The federal agency said both proposals for the first time would place national rules on the disposal and management of the waste material from coal-fired power plants. Yet the EPA’s plan leaves open the question of whether to phase out wet storage impoundments in favor of landfills, with the dueling proposals differing on the issue, according to an EPA press briefing.

The proposals wouldn’t declare coal ash a hazardous waste and the waste material could continue to be reused in various ways, EPA officials said.

The regulations of coal ash follow a December 2008 spill at a Tennessee Valley Authority power plant that sent about a billion gallons of ash and water over as many as 300 acres. Environmentalists have long pushed for the EPA to tighten regulation of coal-combustion byproducts.

The accident raised public health fears, since coal ash contains arsenic, selenium, and other contaminants that can be damaging. Electric utilities and companies that recycle coal waste into products such as cement and drywall have been fighting off new EPA regulations. Power plants say it would be expensive to phase out wet impoundments and shift to landfills.

The EPA will now take public comment and eventually make a final decision on the regulations.

-By Mark Peters, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2457; mark.peters@dowjones.com

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