The U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation that would limit the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate the disposal of coal ash.

The bill, supported by industry and opposed by environmental groups, would leave the regulation of coal combustion waste to the states and would prevent the material from being labeled as “hazardous“ by the EPA.

The House passed the Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act 265-155 on July 25. No comparable legislation has been introduced in the Senate.

A number of construction and industry groups supported the bill, including the American Road & Transportation Builders Association, the American Society of Concrete Contractors and the American Public Power Association.

Supporters of the bill said that labeling coal ash as a hazardous material—a move EPA was considering—would be the death knell for beneficial re-use of coal-combustion by-products in concrete and other materials used in construction.

In a July 22 letter to Congress, more than 200 industry groups wrote that “enactment of [the bill] would resolve the longstanding regulatory uncertainty that has caused beneficial reuse of [coal ash] to stall.”

But environmental groups opposed the provisions limiting EPA’s authority to regulate the disposal of coal ash and to designate it as a hazardous material.

Alex Taurel, League of Conservation Voters deputy legislative director, said in a statement, “We’re producing more than 140 million tons of toxic coal ash nationwide every year. It’s loaded with harmful chemicals like arsenic and lead, and it’s all too often disposed of so improperly that it’s contaminating the water Americans rely on.”