The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to transfer primary oversight of coal ash landfills in Wisconsin from federal regulators to the state.

The proposal would route enforcement of coal combustion residuals (CCR) disposal through Wisconsin's Department of Natural Resources (DNR) rather than continuing direct federal administration. Coal ash — the byproduct of coal-fired power generation — sits in surface impoundments and monofills at utilities across the state, and the question of who inspects, permits, and enforces at those sites is the operational hinge of the proposed transfer.

What is EPA proposing?

The agency is moving to delegate CCR enforcement authority to Wisconsin. Under the federal CCR framework, states may apply to EPA for approval to run their own permitting and compliance programs in place of the federal rule, provided they can demonstrate equivalent capacity. Wisconsin's proposal would follow that pathway.

Why does the transfer matter for operators?

A primacy transfer typically shifts the inspection cadence, reporting format, and corrective-action timeline onto the state program. For utilities operating CCR impoundments or landfills in Wisconsin, that means renegotiating the day-to-day enforcement interface — even as compliance obligations remain unchanged during the transition.

What happens next?

EPA must publish the proposed determination in the Federal Register, open a public comment window, and issue a final decision before any authority shifts. Until that sequence concludes, EPA retains enforcement authority over the state's CCR landfills.

The Federal Register filing and the length of the comment window are the regulatory milestones that will set the handover schedule.