Hanford Environmental Report

Privacy & Security Notice

	Hanford Environmental Report
Dedicated to Environmental Compliance

Volume 25, Number 8 - August 15, 2003

From Washington, D.C.:

EPA PUBLISHES FINAL RULE AMENDING THE REFRIGERANT RECYCLING REGULATIONS

On July 24, 2003, EPA published a final rule (68 FR 43786) in the Federal Register to amend the Refrigerant Recycling Regulations under Section 608 of the CAA. Through this action, EPA is finalizing portions of the February 29, 1996, proposed rule and is providing notice of its intention to continue consideration of other parts of the proposal that are not addressed in this final rule. The final rule amendments include:

Revisions to recordkeeping aspects of the Section 608 technician certification program;
Refines aspects of the refrigerant sales restriction;
Adopts updated versions of ARI Standard 700 and SRI Standard 740 both of which are industry standards previously adopted by EPA;
Clarifies the distinction between major and minor service, maintenance, and repair of appliances;
Amends several definitions; and
Sets forth procedures for the revocation and/or suspension of approval to certify technicians and refrigerant recycling and/or recycling equipment and revocation and /or suspension procedures for certification as a refrigerant reclaimer.

Three of the items discussed in the February 29, 1996, proposal will not be completed as part of the final rule amendment including: the potential adoption of a more flexible method for cleaning refrigerants where the refrigerants will be transferred between appliances with different ownership; the potential adoption of a third-party certification program for reclaimers; and the potential adoption of a third-party certification program for laboratories that verify refrigerant purity or level of contaminants. The final rule becomes effective on September 22, 2003, except for certification of refrigerant recycling only equipment which becomes effective October 22, 2003. For more information, email or call Kirk_A_Peterson@rl.gov@rl.gov at (509) 372-2364 with Fluor Hanford's Compliance Services.

EPA PUBLISHES A NOTICE OF RECONSIDERATION OF THE FINAL RULE ON PREVENTION OF SIGNIFICANT DETERIORATION AND NON-ATTAINMENT NEW SOURCE REVIEW PROGRAMS

On July 30, 2003, EPA published a notice of reconsideration (68 FR 44620) in the Federal Register on several issues of the final rule governing major New Source Review (NSR) programs under Parts C and D of Title 1 of the CAA. EPA is proposing this reconsideration in light of several petitions that were submitted to the Agency after the NSR final rule revisions were published in the Federal Register on December 31, 2002, and March 10, 2003. EPA is requesting public comment on six issues which it will reconsider including:

EPA's report titled, "Supplemental Analysis of the Environmental Impact of the 2002 Final New Source Review Improvement Rules," which concluded that the NSR improvement rule likely will result in greater environmental benefits than the prior program;
The decision to allow certain sources of air emissions to maintain "Clean Unit" status after an area is redesignated from "attainment" to "nonattainment" for one of the six common air pollutants regulated by EPA (ozone, particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and lead);
EPA's inclusion of the "reasonable possibility" standard as it pertains to the need to maintain records and file certain reports when projecting actual emissions following a physical or operational change;
The method for assessing air emissions from process units built after the 24-month baseline period used to establish Plantwide Applicability Limit (PAL) emission limits;
The decision to allow a PAL to supersede existing emissions limits established for NSR applicability purposes. Compliance with the PAL is then used to determine if NSR requirements apply in the future;
The method of measuring emission increases when existing emission units are replaced.

EPA is soliciting comments on these six issues which petitioners claimed they did not have adequate opportunity on which to comment. EPA will be holding a public hearing on the issues for reconsideration at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel and Convention Center at the Research Triangle Part, North Carolina on August 14, 2003, at 9 am. Comments on the issues to be reconsidered must be received by EPA on or before August 29, 2003. For more information, email or call Kirk_A_Peterson@rl.gov@rl.gov at (509) 372-2364 with Fluor Hanford's Compliance Services.

EPA AMENDS THE RISK MANAGEMENT PLANNING REGULATIONS UNDER THE CLEAN AIR ACT

On July 31, 2003, EPA published proposed amendments (68 FR 45123) in the Federal Register to the risk management planning (RMP) regulations under the accidental release prevention provisions of the Clean Air Act (CAA). The RMP regulations require owners and operators of stationary sources to submit risk management plans to federal, state, local emergency planning and response organizations and the public after an accidental release. Through this action, EPA is proposing to:

Modify the re-submission schedule under the risk management program to six-months for sources who have significant accidents and to one month for those who change the information for the emergency contact;
Add three data elements to the RMP;
Remove the regulatory requirement to discuss the off-site consequence analysis in the executive summary of the RMP; and
Make several revisions to the RMP submission format.

The proposed amendments are intended to improve the accident prevention and reporting programs for regulated sources and to assist federal, state and local RMP implementation in light of the homeland security concerns. Comments on the proposed rule must be received by EPA on or before September 15, 2003. For more information, email or call Kirk_A_Peterson@rl.gov@rl.gov at (509) 372-2364 with Fluor Hanford's Compliance Services.

From Olympia:

ECOLOGY PUBLISHES THE FINAL SURFACE WATER QUALITY STANDARDS

On July 16, 2003, Ecology published the final rule (WSR 03-14-129) in the Washington State Register amending the Surface Water Quality Standards (SWQS), Chapter 173-201A which were adopted on July 1, 2003. The final rule is the culmination of 10 years of work by Ecology to complete a major overhaul of the SWQS regulation. The final rule includes:

A new use-based system of organizing the standards which allows designated used to be independently assigned to water bodies for protection;
The addition of criteria to specifically protect native char, red-band trout and native warm water species;
The use of char spawning and early tributary rearing and lower summer maximum temperatures were assigned to specific waterbodies throughout the state;
Lower temperature criteria were assigned to better protect rearing use for nine former Class B water bodies that were designated for salmonid rearing only.
A new bacteria indicator replaced the use of fecal coliform in the State's Class B and C marine waters to protect secondary water contact;
Designation for only salmonid rearing with lower temperature criteria; and
The antidegradation policy was revised and substantial detail added to facilitate implementation.

The final rule amendment became effective August 1, 2003, however, the changes on the Federal Clean Water Act programs will not be effective until they have been approved by EPA. Also, the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must concur that the changes would not violate the Federal Endangered Species Act. The revised regulation, responses to public comments, and other supporting information can be found on the Internet at http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/swqs. For more information, email or call Wayne_E_Toebe@rl.gov at (509) 372-2359 with Fluor Hanford's Project Services.

Briefly:

On July 1, 2003, EPA published a notice (68 FR 39074) in the Federal Register announcing that it was planning to submit an Information Collection Request (ICR) on Toxic Chemical Release Reporting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. Through the ICR, EPA is proposing to make revisions to Form R which is used for Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) reporting. EPA estimates that the revisions will reduce the amount of time facilities must spend reporting by almost half. Under the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act, facilities must report information on releases or transfers of toxic substances annually. The proposed revised Form R and other pertinent documents can be found on the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/edockets. Comments on the ICR must be received by EPA on or before September 2, 2003.
On July 1, 2003, EPA published a notice (68 FR 39086) in the Federal Register announcing that the document entitled, "A Summary of General Assessment Factors for Evaluating the Quality of Scientific and Technical Information" is available. The document describes the assessment factors and considerations EPA generally uses to evaluate the quality and relevance of scientific and technical information. The document can be found on the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/oei/qualityguidelines.
On July 1, 2003, EPA published a notice (68 FR 39087) in the Federal Register announcing that Regions 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 were issuing the final National Pollution Discharge Elimination System general permit for discharges from large and small construction activities. This general permit replaces the existing permit covering large construction sites in EPA Regions 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, and 10 that expired February 17, 2003 and the general permit covering large construction sites in EPA Region 6 that expires July 6, 2003. The general permit also covers large construction sites in EPA Region 5. In addition, the general permit incorporates coverage of small construction activity in EPA Regions 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. The general permit can be found on the Internet at http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater/cgp.cfm. The general permit became effective July 1, 2003.
On July 2, 2003, a U.S District Court for the District of Idaho granted a summary judgment to the National Resources Defense Council in a lawsuit they filed against DOE (NRDC v. Abraham, D., Idaho, 01-0413-S-BLW, 7/2/03). The NRDC sued DOE over Order 435.1 claiming it "arbitrarily and unilaterally reclassifies high-level waste as "incidental waste" thereby exempting it from the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) requirements and allowing it to be subject to entirely different and less stringent disposal criteria". The suit also alleges that the Order would have allowed DOE to reclassify thousands of gallons of high-level radioactive waste in tanks at the Hanford Site, the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory and the Savannah River Site to incidental waste which could remain in the tanks, mixed with concrete. The Court affirmed that the DOE Order violated the NWPA which requires high-level radioactive waste to be disposed of in a permanent underground repository. The Court also affirmed an earlier ruling that the NWPA requirement applies to defense-related high-level radioactive waste and not just waste from civilian reactors. This ruling could jeopardize DOE's strategy to accelerate the cleanup of radioactive waste at these sites.
On July 3, 2003, EPA published a proposed rule (68 FR 39882) in the Federal Register amending the Civil Monetary Penalty Inflation Adjustment Rule under the Debt Collection Improvement Act. The Agency is required to review its penalties at least once every four years and adjust them as necessary for inflation. In this action, EPA is proposing to increase maximum penalties for civil violations on environmental laws by 14.8 percent. The maximum penalty amounts are increased by the amount the Department of Labor's Consumer Price Index has increased since the last adjustment which occurred in 1997. EPA has included a table of adjusted maximum penalty amounts in the Federal Register publication. Comments on the proposed rule amendment must be received by EPA on or before August 4, 2003.
On July 8, 2003, EPA published a notice (68 FR 40655) in the Federal Register announcing that the applicability determinations, alternative monitoring decisions and regulatory interpretations that EPA recently made under the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS), National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) and the Stratospheric Ozone Protection Program have been placed on the Applicability Determination Index database system. The documents can be found on the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/compliance/assistance/applicability.
On July 14, 2003, EPA released the draft document entitled, "Guidance for Assessment, Listing, and Reporting Requirements Under CWA for Water Quality Reports, Impaired Waters Lists". The guidance will be used by states to prepare their 2004 Integrated Reports which are intended to satisfy the listing requirements of Section 303(d) and the reporting requirements of Sections 305(b) and 314.
On July 16, 2003, EPA published a notice (68 FR 41988) in the Federal Register announcing that it was reopening the comment period on the proposed rule amending EPA's procedure for determining test sensitivity and notice of document availability (NODA) on the report entitled, "Technical Support Document for Assessment of Detection and Quantitation Concepts" under the CWA. The proposed rule and NODA were originally published in the Federal Register on March 12, 2003, (68 FR 11770 and 68 FR 11791) with a comment due date of July 10, 2003. EPA is reopening the comment period until August 15, 2003. Comments must be received by EPA on or before that date.
On July 16, 2003, a General Accounting Office (GAO) report entitled, "Nuclear Waste: Challenges to Achieving Potential Savings in DOE's High-Level Waste Cleanup Program" was released. The report recommends that DOE reassess its approach for incorporating new waste separation technologies at the Hanford Facility and to test the technologies more fully before building a full-scale high-level waste facility. The GAO report also urges DOE to seek clarification from Congress on its authority to determine that certain wastes do not have to be treated and disposed of as high-level waste. GAO was to discuss this report at a July 17 House subcommittee oversight hearing. The report can be found on the Internet athttp://www.gao.gov.
On July 18, 2003, EPA published a notice (68 FR 42710) in the Federal Register announcing that the National Advisory Committee for Acute Exposure Guideline Levels (AEGLs) for Hazardous Substances has developed AEGLs for 10 chemicals including ammonia, acetone cyanohydrin, bromine, chloroacetic acid, fluorine, jet fuel 8, methyl ethyl ketone, phosphorus oxychloride, xylenes and phosphorus trichloride. Comments on the AEGLs must be received by EPA on or before August 18, 2003.
On July 22, 2003, EPA released the final version of the Yucca Mountain Review Plan which the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will use as a guide to evaluate DOE's application to build and operate a high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. DOE expects to submit the application by the end of 2004. The plan can be found on the Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr1804.
On July 23, 2003, EPA published a notice (68 FR 43608) in the Federal Register announcing that the Toxic Substances Control Act Interagency Testing Committee (ITC) Fifty-Second Report was sent to EPA's administrator on May 30, 2003. The ITC indicated in the report that it is revising the Voluntary Information Submissions Innovative Online Network (VISION) to encourage more efficient use of the network. The report can be found on the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/itc. Comments on the report must be received by EPA on or before August 22, 2003.
On July 29, 2003, DOE published a notice (68 FR 44531) in the Federal Register announcing that the Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board for Hanford will be holding the next meeting on September 4, 2003, from 9 am to 5 pm and September 5, 2003, from 8:30 am to 4 pm. The meeting is being held at the Doubletree Suites Seattle, 16500 Southcenter Parkway, Seattle.
On July 30, 2003, EPA released the document entitled, "TRI Report for 2001". The TRI was established by the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act and is an electronic database that includes data on emissions of 650 chemicals and pesticides. The Inventory can be found on the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/tri.
On July 30, 2003, EPA published a final rule (68 FR 44659) in the Federal Register that eliminates drafting errors and ambiguities in the used oil management standards. The final rule clarifies: when used oil contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) is regulated under RCRA used oil management standards and when it is not; that mixtures of conditionally exempt small quantity generator waste and used oil are subject to the RCRA used oil management standards irrespective of how that mixture is to be recycled; and that the initial marketer of used oil that meets the used oil fuel specification need only keep a record of a shipment of used oil to the facility to which the initial marketer delivers it. The final rule becomes effective September 29, 2003.
On July 30, 2003, EPA published a notice (68 FR 44784) in the Federal Register announcing that the draft document entitled, "Framework for Application of the Toxicity Equivalence Methodology for Polychlorinated Dioxins, Furans, and Biphenyls in Ecological Risk Assessment" was available for public review and comment. The document describes the methodology for assessing ecological risk of complex mixtures of dioxins, furans and dioxin-like PCBs in the environment. The draft document can be found on the Internet at http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/raf/recrodisplay.cfm?deid=55669. Comments on the document must be received by EPA on or before September 29, 2003.

*FEDERAL/STATE*
	*REGISTER REVIEW*

68 FR 39071: On July 1, 2003, EPA published a notice announcing that it was planning to submit an Information Collection Request on Alternate Threshold for Low Annual Reportable Amounts, Toxic Chemical Release Reporting to the Office of Management and Budget for review and approval. Comments on the ICR must be received by EPA on or before July 31, 2003.

68 FR 39074: On July 1, 2003, EPA published a notice announcing that it was planning to submit an ICR on Toxic Chemical Release Reporting to OMB for review and approval (see briefly, this edition). Comments on the ICR must be received by EPA on or before September 2, 2003.

68 FR 39086: On July 1, 2003, EPA published a notice announcing that a document entitled, "A Summary of General Assessment Factors for Evaluating the Quality of Scientific and Technical Information" is available (see briefly, this edition). The document can be found on the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/oei/qualityguidelines/af_home.htm.

68 FR 39087: On July 1, 2003, EPA published a notice announcing that EPA Regions 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 were issuing final National Pollution Discharge Elimination System general permits for discharges from large and small construction activities (see briefly, this edition). The permit became effective July 1, 2003.

68 FR 39882: On July 3, 2003, EPA published a proposed rule to amend the final Civil Monetary Penalty Inflation Adjustment Rule to adjust EPA's civil monetary penalties as required by the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 (see briefly, this edition). Comments on the proposed rule must be received by EPA on or before August 4, 2003.

68 FR 40655: On July 8, 2003, EPA published a notice announcing that the applicability determinations, alternative monitoring decisions, and regulatory interpretations that EPA has made under the New Source Performance Standards, the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants, and the Stratospheric Ozone Protection Program are available on the Applicability Determination Index (ADI) database system (see briefly, this edition). These documents can be found on the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/compliance/assistance/applicability.

68 FR 41353: On July 11, 2003, EPA published the seventeenth update of the Federal Agency Hazardous Waste Compliance Docket as required by CERCLA section 120 (c). The docket contains particular information about Federal Facilities that manage hazardous waste or from which hazardous substances have been or may be released. The list is current as of February 4, 2003.

68 FR 41988: On July 16, 2003, EPA published a notice announcing that it was reopening the comment period on the proposed rule and document availability on EPA's assessment of detection and quantitation procedures (see briefly, this edition). Comments were scheduled to end July 10, 2003 but the comment period has now been extended to August 15, 2003.

68 FR 41925: On July 16, 2003, EPA published technical corrections to the final rule on protection of stratospheric ozone: allowance system for controlling HCFC production, import and export- published in the Federal Register on January 21, 2003. The final rule amendments became effective July 16, 2003.

68 FR 42710: On July 18, 2003, EPA published a notice which provides Acute Exposure Guideline Levels (AEGLs) values and executive summaries of 10 chemicals for public review and comment. Comments on the AEGLs must be received by EPA on or before August 18, 2003.

68 FR 42883: On July 18, 2003, EPA published a final rule adding chlorobromomethane to the list of substances subject to production and consumption controls under the CAA and EPA's implementing regulations. The final rule becomes effective August 18, 2003.

68 FR 42897: On July 18, 2003, EPA published a notice announcing that it has reviewed comments on regulation of nine contaminants on the Contaminant Candidate List contained in a previous notice published in the Federal Register (67 FR 38222) on June 3, 2002, and determined that no regulatory action is appropriate at this time.

68 FR 42907: On July 18, 2003, EPA published a notice announcing that it has completed its review of National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWRs) for 69 NPDWRs and has listed its decisions to revise or not revise these regulations. The notice also contains major comments and other new information on these regulations.

68 FR 43271: On July 21, 2003, EPA published a final rule approving test methods for the analysis of E. coli, enterococci, Cryptosporidium and Giardia in fresh ambient water matrices and for the analysis of enterococci in marine ambient water matrices. The final rule will become effective August 20, 2003.

68 FR 43608: On July 23, 2003, EPA published a notice announcing that the Toxic Substances Control Act ITC has transmitted the Fifty Second Report to the Administrator of the EPA on May 30, 2003 (see briefly, this edition). Comments on this revision must be received by EPA on or before August 22, 2003.

68 FR 43786: On July 24, 2003, EPA published a final rule amending the Refrigerant Recycling Regulations under Section 608 of the CAA (see article, this edition). The final rule becomes effective September 22, 2003, except for certification of refrigerant recycling only equipment which becomes effective October 22, 2003.

68 FR 44076: On July 25, 2003, EPA published a notice announcing the OMB's responses to EPA's Information Collection Requests that expired in June 2003.

68 FR 43991: On July 25, 2003, EPA published a notice of proposed rulemaking to prohibit the import and export of methyl bromide from or to a foreign state that is not a party to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. Elsewhere in this same register (68 FR 43930), EPA has published a direct final rule on this same subject. The direct final rule becomes effective October 23, 2003, unless EPA receives adverse comments by August 25, 2003, or if a public hearing is requested by September 18, 2003, at which time EPA will withdraw the direct final rule and continue with the proposed rulemaking.

68 FR 44531: On July 29, 2003, DOE published a notice announcing that the Environmental Management Site Specific Advisory Board for Hanford will be meeting on Thursday, September 4, 2003, from 9 am to 5 pm a the Doubletree Suites Seattle, 16500 Southcenter Parkway, Seattle.

68 FR 44659: On July 30, 2003, EPA published a final rule which clarifies when used oil contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls is regulated under the RCRA used oil management standards and when it is not (see briefly, this edition). The final rule becomes effective September 29, 2003.

68 FR 44784: On July 30, 2003, EPA published a notice announcing that the start of a 60 day comment period on the draft document entitled, "Application of the Toxicity Equivalence Methodology for Polychlorinated Dioxins, Furans and Biphenyls in Ecological Risk Assessment" (see briefly, this edition). The draft document can be found on the Internet at http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/raf/recordisplay.cfm?deid=55669.

68 FR 44620: On July 30, 2003, EPA published a notice announcing it is reconsidering certain issues arising from the final rule published in the Federal Register on December 31, 2003 regarding NSR programs mandated by Parts C and D of the CAA and is requesting public comment on these issues (see article, this edition). Comments must be received by EPA on or before August 29, 2003.

68 FR 45123: On July 31, 2003, EPA published a proposed rule to amend the accidental release prevention provisions of the CAA, in particular, EPA is proposing to modify the re-submission schedule under the risk management program (RMP) for sources who have significant accidents and for those who change the information for the emergency contacts (see article, this edition). Comments on the amendments must be received by EPA on or before September 15, 2003.

WSR 03-14-129: On July 16, 2003, Ecology published the final rule adopting amendments to Chapter 173-201A, the Surface Water Quality Standards (see article, this edition). The final rule will become effective on August 1, 2003.

WSR 03-14-125: On July 16, 2003, Ecology published its semi annual rulemaking agenda for the period July 2003 to December 2003.

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For technical questions regarding the subject matter, please send email to: Wayne_E_Toebe@rl.gov