With a handful of Democratic votes, the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed a bill Wednesday that limits the EPA’s ability to regulate coal ash and says coal ash residue deserves little more scrutiny and regulation than municipal trash.

Instead of giving the Environmental Protection Agency the mandate to regulate coal ash, the bill puts the onus on states to set up a program to deal with the issue. EPA would provide oversight. The bill passed by a 35-12 vote, with six Democrats joining the GOP.

As iWatch News has reported, coal ash's metals have poisoned water supplies, damaged ecosystems and jeopardized the health of nearby residents. EPA has faced stiff resistance in trying to regulate the material as hazardous waste, led by coal-supported politicians such as one of the bill's biggest proponents, David McKinley, R-W.Va.

"I'm going to defend the coal industry all across America," McKinley said Wednesday. "We cannot afford any further attack in this war on coal."

The bill's most vocal detractor, Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said it was pushed too fast and without a proper hearing.

"There are differences between municipal solid waste and the kind of waste we're regulating," he said during the bill's markup. "We haven't really had the chance to engage fully on this legislation, with EPA. This is a major piece of legislation. I'm not sure it's going to be effective."

Waxman called for more time to improve the bill before it goes to the House floor for a vote.

In its newest spending proposal for the EPA, the House appropriations committee included a section that forbids the agency from using federal dollars to regulate coal ash. The move had environmental groups calling foul and saying Republicans were trying to hide pet legislation in a must-pass appropriations measure.

Environmental groups sued the Environmental Protection Agency in federal court Thursday over the EPA’s failure to regulate disposal of toxic coal ash.

“Politics and pressure from corporate lobbyists are delaying much needed health protections from coal ash,” Lisa Evans, a lawyer with Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law firm, said in a statement. “As we clean up the smokestacks of power plants, we can’t just shift the pollution from air to water and think the problem is solved. The EPA must set strong, federally enforceable safeguards against this toxic menace.”

Coal ash is the collective term for the solid remnants left over from the burning of coal at more than 500 power plants nationwide. It contains compounds such as arsenic, chromium, lead and mercury, which have been linked to cancer, birth defects, gastrointestinal illnesses and reproductive problems.

A 2009 investigation by the Center for Public Integrity revealed the havoc that coal ash has wreaked near ponds, landfills, and pits where it is dumped. Even the EPA has identified 63 “proven or potential damage cases” in 23 states where coal ash has tainted groundwater or otherwise harmed the environment. But critics say no meaningful federal regulations have been put in place.

The issue gained renewed attention after a dam holding billions of gallons of coal ash collapsed in eastern Tennessee in December 2008, destroying houses and water supplies and dirtying a river. Following the spill, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson pledged to set federal standards.