Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, left, speaks during a news conference at the Capitol next to Gov. Kelly Armstrong on Nov. 5, 2025. (Photo by Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)

BISMARCK, N.D. ( North Dakota Monitor ) — The federal government will allow the state of North Dakota to regulate the handling of waste from coal-burning power plants.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, Gov. Kelly Armstrong and other officials announced Wednesday that the EPA has approved the state’s coal combustion residuals permit program.

Coal combustion residuals, or CCRs, are waste such as fly ash and other types of ash. Some can be recycled into concrete or wallboard.

Republican U.S. Sen. John Hoeven pointed to a bill he helped author to allow states

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