Georgia Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) records

Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR), also known as coal ash, are regulated in Georgia under the Solid Waste Management rules of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD). EPD gathers its public notices and documents on one Coal Ash Information page: coal ash pond dewatering plans, CCR management plans, CCR draft permits and permits, and CCR site limitations.

In a Phase I ESA

ASTM E1527-21 does not name coal ash records among its standard record sources. They bear on a property that is, or is near, a power plant ash pond, a CCR landfill, or a landfill that takes coal ash. The records fall into two groups.

• Ash ponds and CCR landfills. EPD's CCR Permits page links permit information pages for ash ponds and CCR landfills, each with the date it was posted. Draft permits, site limitations and draft site limitations each have a page of their own, and so do ash pond dewatering plans.
• Other landfills that accept CCR. Under Solid Waste Management Rule 391-3-4-.07(5), effective November 22, 2016, a landfill owner or operator must incorporate a CCR Management Plan into the facility's Design and Operational Plan before the first receipt of CCR. A landfill that accepted CCR before that date and meant to continue had until May 22, 2017. To keep accepting CCR, a landfill must submit an annual CCR Management and Dust Control Report. Based on annual reviews and onsite inspections, EPD either approves continued management under the existing plan in writing or asks the facility to amend the plan.

For a landfill near the property, the question to ask is whether it accepts coal ash. EPD's page of approved CCR management plans answers it for the landfills listed there.

EPD also posts notices of variances proposed under Rule 391-3-4-.10(11).

What the record shows

For each landfill with an approved CCR management plan, EPD's page gives the permit number and county, and links the initial approval, the CCR management plan, the supporting documents, and each year's annual report and plan approval, with the date each was posted. The plans are incorporated into the landfill permit.

The permit information pages for ash ponds and CCR landfills were not read for this handbook, so their contents are not described here.

Where to look a site up

• EPD's Coal Ash Information page links every group of records above.
• The approved plans are on its Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) Management Plans page, and the permit pages are linked from CCR Permits.
• EPD says new information is also posted to its Land Protection Branch Public Announcements page, newest first.
• The coal ash pages read give no phone number of their own. EPD's landfill list is described on the Regulated Solid Waste Facilities page, and the Solid Waste Management Program is at 404.362.2692.

Getting the file

The pages read do not say where coal ash files are kept. The rules cited are Solid Waste Management rules, and EPD's Tradeport office holds the solid waste files. File reviews are by appointment, requested by email at the address on EPD's Land Branch Open Records Requests page. Requests under the Georgia Open Records Act go through EPD's Open Records Request Portal.

Sources

Georgia Environmental Protection Division pages, read October 7, 2026:

• Coal Ash Information, last modified September 26, 2024.
• Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) Management Plans, last modified August 3, 2026.
• CCR Permits, last modified August 10, 2026.
• Contact Us, last modified June 18, 2026.
• Land Branch Open Records Requests, last modified July 29, 2026.