Privacy & Security Notice

	Hanford Environmental Report
Dedicated to Environmental Compliance

Volume 24, Number 1 - January 11, 2002

From Olympia:

ECOLOGY BEGINS RULEMAKING TO AMEND THE UNDERGROUND INJECTION CONTROL PROGRAM REGULATIONS

On December 5, 2001, Ecology published a pre-proposal statement of inquiry (WSR 01-23-094) in the Washington State Register (WSR) to begin rulemaking to amend Chapter 173-218 WAC, the Underground Injection Control (UIC) Program. The proposed amendments will include:

• Revising the state UIC rule language to make it current with federal rule changes that occurred in 1999;
• Bringing consistency between the rules that regulate UIC wells and Chapter 173-216 WAC, the State Waste Discharge Permit Program and Chapter 173-226 WAC, the Waste Discharge General Permit Program; and
• Clarifying language in the current regulation.

Ecology will also be updating the memorandum of understanding it has with the Departments of Health and Natural Resources, which regulate certain types of UIC wells. Ecology intends to use advisory committees in the formulation of the regulatory amendments. The Agency will also have a dedicated UIC rule revision Webpage, which will be used to update interested parties on the current status of the rulemaking. For more information on the rulemaking, email or call Marsha_A_Beery@rl.gov at (360) 709-0664 with Fluor Hanford's Olympia Office.

STATUS OF ECOLOGY RULEMAKING

Model Toxic Control Act Rule

Ecology recently met with the Science Advisory Board (SAB) to discuss the issues it will be working on with the Model Toxic Control Act in 2002. Ecology's list of issues include:

• Define significance for determining when the dermal exposure pathway must be evaluated and develop the IEUBK soil lead model;
• Develop exposure scenarios for nonpotable ground water;
• Develop exposure scenarios for evaluating the protectiveness of soil remediation levels;
• Develop exposure scenarios for evaluating the protectiveness of ground water remediation levels;
• Develop guidance for how to assign chemical parameters when there is variability in the literature;
• Develop natural attenuation guidance including protocols for determining an appropriate biodegradation rate to use at a site; and
• Convene the area-wide contamination task force.

The SAB gave Ecology the go ahead to work on these issues. Over the course of the next year, Ecology will be working with various stakeholders and the External Advisory Committee to address these issues.

Dangerous Waste Rules

Ecology submitted the final authorization package to EPA on July 31, 2001. After reviewing the package, EPA asked Ecology for additional information. Ecology submitted additional information to EPA in late December 2001, and expects EPA to approve the package in January 2002. Once the package is approved, EPA will publish its decision on the authorization in the Federal Register.

New Source Review Rule

Steve Cross, Ecology's lead on the New Source Review (NSR) rulemaking, is awaiting the Air Quality Program (AQP) management approval before the rulemaking can be restarted. He had anticipated that the rulemaking would be restarted in August 2001, but there was a delay pending the completion of another rulemaking to amend Chapters 173-400 WAC, General Regulations for Air Pollution Sources and 173-401 WAC, the Air Operating Permit rule, which would impact the language of the NSR rulemaking. Now that the rulemaking on Chapters 400 and 401 WAC has been completed, the rulemaking on the NSR can proceed once Ecology's AQP management has given its approval.

Water Quality Triennial Review

Ecology is continuing to work on the Use-Based Format (UBF) rulemaking. The Agency is awaiting the completion of the EPA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife (USFS), and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Regional Temperature Criteria for waters of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho to protect salmon before completing the UBF rulemaking. The EPA, USFS, and NMFS released a draft of the Regional Temperature Criteria on October 31, 2001, for public review and comment. The comment period ended December 21, 2001. EPA held five public workshops to discuss the criteria and get feedback from interested parties. Ecology will use the final criteria EPA develops to complete their rulemaking.

Minimum Functional Standards for Solid Waste Landfills

Ecology will file the proposed Minimum Functional Standards for Solid Waste Landfills rule amendments with the Code Revisor's office in February 2002, and publish the proposed rule in the Washington State Register in March 2002.

For more information, email or call Marsha_A_Beery@rl.gov at (360) 709-0664 with Fluor Hanford's Olympia Office.

Briefly:

• On December 3, 2001, EPA published a notice delaying the effective date of a direct final rule (66 FR 50332) to make corrections to the Hazardous Waste Identification Rule and Revisions to the Mixture and Derived-From Rule. The revisions reinsert certain exemptions to the mixture rule which were inadvertently deleted and clarify that mixtures consisting of certain excluded wastes and listed hazardous wastes that have been listed solely for the characteristic of ignitability, corrosivity, and/or reactivity are exempt once the characteristic for which the hazardous waste was listed has been removed. The notice reopens the comment period for 30 days. Comments were to be received by EPA on or before January 2, 2002. If no adverse comments are received by that date, the direct final rule will become effective February 1, 2002. For more information, email or call Wayne_E_Toebe@rl.gov at (509) 372-2359 with Fluor Hanford's Compliance Services.

• On December, 10, 2002, EPA published a notice (66 FR 63706) in the Federal Register announcing that draft Risk Assessment Guidance for Superfund:Volume I Human Health Evaluation Manual (Part E, Supplemental Guidance For Dermal Risk Assessment) was available for review and comment. EPA is also requesting data for reducing the uncertainty and variability in assessing the risks from dermal exposure. The guidance is intended to assist risk assessors and others in addressing concerns on evaluations of dermal exposure risk assessment pathways. The guidance can be found on the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/superfund/programs/risk/ragse/index.htm.

• On December 19, 2001, Ecology published a notice (WSR 01-24-087) in the Washington State Register announcing the site use permit fees for March 1, 2002 through February 28, 2002, for disposal of waste in Hanford's commercial low-level radioactive waste disposal site. Generators and brokers of low-level radioactive waste must obtain a site use permit for disposal of waste at the Hanford commercial low-level radioactive waste disposal facility on an annual basis. They must pay the full fee when the application is submitted to Ecology each year. Assessment of the permit fee is based on the total annual volume that is deposited by the generator or broker during the previous calendar year. The annual base fee, (1x) for this fee period, has been set at $411 and the fees for this period range from $411 for less than 50 cubic feet of waste to $41,100 for nuclear utilities.

• EPA recently issued guidance entitled, "Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation Reporting Guidance." This guidance is intended to assist drinking water supply system operators in submitting results of monitoring, surveys, and other assessments of unregulated contaminants to EPA. The guidance contains information on sampling, procedures for entering data into EPA's national database and schedules for monitoring. This data is required by the 1996 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act and will be used to determine whether EPA will conduct further studies on or promulgate regulations for a list of contaminants developed by EPA in 1999. The guidance can be found on the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/water/new.html.

• Ecology will be holding the 2002 Dangerous Waste Management Workshops (Workshops) in January and February 2002. The day-long workshops, which are offered for dangerous waste generators, cover proper hazardous waste management and compliance requirements with the Dangerous Waste Regulations. They will be held in various cities throughout Washington including Olympia on January 18 at the West Coast Olympia Hotel; Spokane on January 29 at the Spokane Valley Double Tree Hotel; Yakima on January 31 at the Selah Double Tree Hotel; and Seattle on February 7 and 8 at the Red Lion Hotel at South Center. The Workshops cost $45, which includes a catered lunch. For more information or to register, contact Ecology at (360) 407-6718.

• The Association of Washington Business recently released its 2002 Legislative Objectives (LOs), which are the primary policies it will focus on and support during the 2002 legislative session. Included in these LOs are policies on persistent bioaccumulative toxins, regulatory reform, water quality, and water resources. Details of LOs can be found on the Internet at http://www.awb.org.