The disposal costs for ash and flue gas desulfurization (FGD) scrubber sludge from coal-fired generating plants are certain to increase due to new requirements promulgated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA). Disposal costs depend on whether either ash, sludge, or both are designated as non-hazardous or hazardous. A preliminary assessment is provided of the disposal technologies likely to meet the requirements for ash and sludge disposal under both the non-hazardous and hazardous alternatives, and calculates the incremental costs to meet the new standards. A model plant approach was adopted, and volumes of sludge were computed for a lime scrubber system. Disposal costs were calculated on a component by component basis. The disposal systems which comply with RCRA ranged in cost from 1.2 mills/kwh to 2.0 mills/kwh or $12 to $53 per kw. In 1990 it is estimated that there will be 204 gigawatts of generating capacity fitted with scrubbers. Each 0.1 mill/kwh implies a national annual cost of $134 million. The annual costs for the estimated disposal options range for $1.6 billion to $2.7 billion.