Apr 19

Charah, Inc. Receives Prestigious EPA Award

LOUISVILLE, KY (April 19, 2005) – Charah®, Inc., a leading ash management provider for the coal-fired electric utility industry, has been awarded one of the first ever United States Environmental Protection Agency’s prestigious Coal Combustion Products Partnership (C2P2) awards. Charles Price, Charah President & CEO, accepted the first place award for Innovation during the C2P2 Awards Ceremony held at the Lexington History Museum in Lexington, Kentucky on April 13, 2005 with 300 people in attendance. The awards ceremony was held in conjunction with the international World of Coal Ash conference, held the week of April 11, 2005.

The EPA’s 13 C2P2 award winners were selected from numerous competitive applications to honor companies which demonstrate outstanding achievements in increasing the amount of coal combustion products (CCPs) beneficially used, and illustrate that coal ash utilization can make a difference. Winners represented companies and organizations in the United States and Canada, and were recognized for Environmental Achievement, Innovation, Enhanced Utilization, Communications and Outreach, Partnerships, Research and Overall Achievement.

Charah received the first place award for Innovation for its commendable achievements in developing a new, patent-pending lightweight concrete mix to be sold under the brand name PROJECT MIX in all of The Home Depot®’s Virginia locations. This exclusive marketing brand will only be available at The Home Depot.

Charah® Lightweight Concrete Mix is made with PriceLite® aggregate. PriceLite, a lightweight aggregate made from bottom ash, will dramatically increase the potential for beneficial use of both the bottom ash and fly ash that is produced by coal-burning utilities. Because of the light unit weight of PriceLite, Charah’s patent-pending concrete mix using bottom ash will give consumers a lighter product with the same concrete yields that they are already accustomed to purchasing. For example, a 29 pound bag of Charah concrete mix will provide a concrete yield equivalent to that of a 40 pound bag of regular concrete mix.

In addition, Charah has developed innovative packaging for this new product, utilizing a patent-pending totally sealed plastic bag with two handles, as opposed to a traditional paper bag. This packaging innovation is easier to lift and carry, less likely to break and much cleaner than traditional paper bags, making it attractive to retailers like The Home Depot as well as consumers.

Finally, since the concrete mix is made with a recycled ash product that otherwise could end up in a landfill, the product is environmentally valuable as well.

According to Charles Price, President and CEO of Charah, Inc., “Charah prides itself in being a trendsetter in the ash management industry and a proven specialist in bottom ash recycling. Not only do we manage and operate landfills, process and market bottom ash materials, develop and operate structural fills, manage ash ponds and process IGCC slag for utilities, but we strive to find new ways to utilize coal combustion products to benefit both the utility industry and our environment. Our new lightweight concrete mix and its revolutionary packaging are examples of the innovative, environmentally-conscious solutions we strive to provide.”

The concrete mix is produced and bagged at a new Charah-owned and operated production plant in Emporia, Virginia, the first of several planned packaging plants for producing the company’s lightweight and other concrete products. The facility also serves as a warehouse and distribution center.

In addition to PROJECT MIX, Charah has developed additional products made with its lightweight PriceLite aggregate including TradeCraft Crack Resistant 5000 and PakMix Fast Setting Concrete Mix. These new lightweight concrete products and the full line of PakMix products will be available at all The Home Depot stores in Virginia.

Mr. Tom Dunne, Deputy Assistant EPA Administrator of the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, provided opening comments and hosted the ceremony. He was assisted by Mr. Tom Feeley, Technology Manager for Innovations for Existing Plants Program, US Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Fossil Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory; Mr. Jose Sepulveda, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Division Administrator; Mr. Jim Roewer, Executive Director of Utility Solid Waste Activity Group (USWAG) and David Goss, Executive Director of American Coal Ash Association (ACAA).

About C2P2

Coal Combustion Products Partnership (C2P2) is an initiative sponsored by the US Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy (DOE), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the American Coal Ash Association (ACAA) and the Utility Solid Waste Activity Group (USWAG) to promote the increased use of coal ash in ways that are environmentally sound and commercially beneficial. For more information, please visit www.epa.gov.

About Charah

Charah®, Inc. is a leading ash management provider for the coal-fired electric utility industry. Based in Louisville, KY, Charah provides a complete line of ash management services including landfill construction, management & operations; bottom ash processing & marketing; fly ash sales; engineered fill applications; ash pond management; Integrated Gasification Combine Cycle (IGCC) slag beneficiation; gypsum handling, and limestone grinding and handling.

Charah is a charter member of the EPA’s Coal Combustion Products Partnership (C2P2) which encourages beneficial use of coal by-products. In April 2005, Charah was awarded the C2P2’sfirst place award for Innovation by the EPA for outstanding achievement in increasing the amount of coal-combustion products (CCPs) beneficially used in its patent-pending ash-based packaged concrete.