Federal Regulations

Federal law plays a powerful role in how coal dust is regulated, monitored, and enforced. Understanding how federal systems work can help impacted residents bring every level of government into the effort to reduce coal dust harms. Communities can use federal rules, agencies, and pathways to push for accountability, even when local or state tools are limited. At the federal level, coal dust is regulated primarily through laws and agencies concerned with air pollution, transportation, and civil rights. Although no federal regulation is titled specifically for “coal dust,” the particles that make up coal dust fall squarely within existing federal air pollution frameworks. These frameworks establish minimum standards that states must meet and create pathways for federal enforcement when those standards are not adequately upheld.

The cornerstone of federal air pollution regulation is the Clean Air Act. Enacted to protect public health and welfare, the Clean Air Act authorizes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate air pollutants that are harmful to human health or the environment. Coal dust is regulated under the Act because it consists of particulate matter, which is a category of air pollution known to cause respiratory and cardiovascular harm. The EPA has established National Ambient Air Quality Standards, or NAAQS, for particulate matter, including PM₁₀, which refers to particles 10 micrometers or smaller in diameter, and PM₂.₅, which refers to even finer particles capable of penetrating deep into the lungs and bloodstream. Coal handling, storage, and transport activities are common sources of PM₁₀ and can also contribute to PM₂.₅ levels, particularly when coal dust becomes airborne through wind, vehicle movement, or material handling.

These federal particulate matter standards are health-based and legally enforceable. They are designed to protect sensitive populations, including children, the elderly, and individuals with asthma or heart disease. Importantly, coal dust does not need to be named explicitly in a regulation for its impacts to violate federal law. If coal dust contributes to particulate matter concentrations that exceed federal standards, that condition constitutes a violation of the Clean Air Act.

Under the Clean Air Act, states bear primary responsibility for implementing and enforcing federal air quality standards through State Implementation Plans, commonly referred to as SIPs. Each state must develop a SIP that explains how it will achieve and maintain compliance with the federal NAAQS. These plans must be submitted to and approved by the EPA.⁵ Once approved, a SIP becomes federally enforceable. If a state fails to enforce its SIP adequately, allows repeated violations, or does not correct known problems, the EPA has the authority to intervene directly. This intervention may take the form of disapproving the SIP, imposing a Federal Implementation Plan, or initiating federal enforcement actions against polluters or the state itself.

The EPA plays a critical role not only in setting standards but also in ensuring compliance. The agency has broad enforcement authority under the Clean Air Act, including the power to conduct inspections, issue administrative compliance orders, assess civil penalties, and bring enforcement actions in federal court.⁷ EPA enforcement may be triggered by regulatory monitoring data, documented community complaints, investigative journalism, or evidence that a state agency has failed to act. For communities experiencing ongoing coal dust exposure, the EPA represents an essential backstop when state or local enforcement mechanisms fall short.

Environmental justice considerations further strengthen the federal role. Executive orders can and have required the EPA and other federal agencies/departments to consider whether pollution disproportionately affects low-income communities or communities of color.In such cases, the agency may prioritize inspections, increase scrutiny of permits, or conduct cumulative impact assessments that account for multiple pollution sources affecting the same population. These tools are particularly relevant in communities where coal dust exposure compounds existing environmental and health burdens.

Federal air quality enforcement relies heavily on monitoring and data. The EPA approves specific methods and instruments for regulatory air monitoring and maintains national databases, such as the Air Quality System, that compile monitoring results from across the country. While official enforcement decisions depend on regulatory-grade data, community-generated evidence remains important. Complaints, photographs, sampling conducted by researchers, and local monitoring projects can all help trigger investigations and guide enforcement priorities, even when those data are not themselves used to establish formal violations.

Coal dust frequently enters communities through transportation systems, especially railroads. Railroads are regulated primarily at the federal level, which significantly limits the ability of states and local governments to regulate rail operations directly. The Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act grants exclusive jurisdiction over rail transportation to the federal government and preempts many state and local regulations. However, this preemption is not absolute. Courts have recognized that state and local governments may exercise their traditional police powers to protect public health and safety, so long as their actions do not unreasonably interfere with interstate commerce or railroad operations.

Oversight of railroads falls largely to the Surface Transportation Board, an independent federal agency with authority to investigate unreasonable practices and address service-related complaints. The Board has the power to consider evidence that railroad activities are causing unreasonable environmental or community harms, including dust emissions. Communities, local governments, and advocacy organizations may file formal complaints or petitions with the Surface Transportation Board, particularly when coal dust originates from rail transport and related infrastructure.

Federal civil rights law provides an additional pathway for addressing coal dust impacts. Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, recipients of federal funding—including state environmental agencies—may not administer programs in a way that discriminates on the basis of race, color, or national origin. If a state agency’s permitting or enforcement decisions result in disproportionate coal dust exposure for marginalized communities, affected residents may file a civil rights complaint with the EPA’s Office of Civil Rights. Such complaints can prompt federal investigations and, in some cases, lead to changes in permitting decisions or enforcement practices.

Taken together, these federal laws, agencies, and processes form a layered system that communities can activate for a multi-pronged advocacy approach and for when local and state responses prove insufficient. While federal action is often slow and resource-intensive, when politically viable during a sympathetic administration, it remains one of the most effective ways to compel accountability, especially in cases involving large industrial operators, transportation infrastructure, or entrenched patterns of environmental inequality. Understanding how these federal mechanisms function helps explain why coal dust advocacy often extends beyond local nuisance law and into broader struggles over civil rights, public health, and environmental justice.