Proposed Environmental Protection Agency amendments that would loosen coal ash rules came under scrutiny in an EPA public hearing in Arlington, Va., with environmentalists calling them illegal because of the lack of proper monitoring and protections for the public. The amendments call for an elimination of onsite dry coal ash storage requirements for utility companies, and the relenting of environmental protections on coal ash fill projects greater than 12,400 tons. The latter of the two amendments is the larger concern for environmentalists.