Hanford Environmental Report
Dedicated to Environmental Compliance

Volume 22, Number 7 - July 14, 2000

From Washington D.C.:

EPA PUBLISHES AN ADVANCED NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING TO AMEND THE LAND DISPOSAL RESTRICTIONS OF RCRA

On June 19, 2000, EPA published an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) in the Federal Register (65 FR 37932) discussing the issues EPA is requesting public input on to amend the Land Disposal Restrictions (LDR) program under RCRA. These issues came from interviews the Agency conducted with EPA Headquarters, EPA Regions, States, and LDR experts in the regulated community and environmental groups. EPA also used recommendations from the LDR Roundtable which met in 1993 and again in 1998 to discuss LDR issues, and information from site visits EPA staff made to several generator and treatment facilities. The issues, in the ANPR EPA is requesting public input on, include:

• Ways EPA can encourage the use of source reduction and recycling;
• Ways EPA can encourage innovative treatment technologies and incorporate these technologies into the LDR program;
• The long-term effectiveness of stabilization treatment for hazardous metal wastes;
• Determine better ways to ensure that treatment standards for reactive wastes are adequately protective;
• Appropriateness of developing treatment standards for additional constituents of concern within listed solvent wastes;
• Appropriateness of allowing public input into EPA's decision on requests for Determinations of Equivalent Treatment;
• The appropriate regulatory response regarding the treatment standards for hazardous debris, particularly, whether macroencapsulation is the most appropriate treatment for debris primarily contaminated with organic compounds;
• Appropriateness of establishing treatment standards for incinerator ash to reduce paperwork and analytical costs; and
• Appropriateness of establishing targeted treatment standards for radioactive mixed waste.

Comments on the ANPR must be received by EPA on or before September 18, 2000. Wayne Toebe with Compliance Field Services is currently evaluating the ANPR and working with DOE to determine whether or not comments should be submitted for Hanford. For more information, email or call Wayne_E_Toebe@rl.gov of Fluor Hanford at (509) 372-2359.

From Olympia:

ECOLOGY ADOPTS FINAL DANGEROUS WASTE REGULATIONS

On June 7, 2000, Ecology published the final amendments to the Dangerous Waste Regulations in the Washington State Register (WSR 00-11-040). The final rule incorporates new federal and certain state-only requirements including:

• Adopting a new category of Federal Universal Waste which are lamps that are designated as dangerous wastes such as fluorescent, high intensity discharge, and neon;
• Adopting the Federal Used Oil rule with some changes such as prohibiting mixing of dangerous wastes with used oil, and allowing generators to transport more than 55 gallons of used oil to collection centers that meet certain requirements without obtaining an EPA/Identification Number;
• Adopting the Federal Phase III and IV LDR standards with the exclusion of mining wastes and adding a requirement for tank and secondary containment assessments;
• Adopting the Federal Subpart CC air emission standards including some changes to Subparts AA and BB that will affect certain generators;
• Adopting portions of the Federal Hazardous Waste Identification rule for Media and the Post-Closure rule;
• Adopting most of the Federal Military Munitions Rule;
• Improving the state-only transporter requirements;
• Removing the state-only exemption for fertilizers made from steel mill flue dust (K061) from meeting the LDRs;
• Incorporating the state-only fertilizer application-review criteria into regulation; and
• Clarifying that fertilizers made from state-only wastes are subject to federal LDR standards where applicable before they can be used.

The final rule became effective June 10, 2000. Tony Miskho with Compliance Field Services has reviewed the final rule and prepared a paper identifying specific provisions that impact Hanford. For information, email or call Anthony_G_Miskho@rl.gov of Fluor Hanford at (509) 376-7313.

Briefly:

• On April 14, 2000, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated EPA guidance on periodic emission monitoring which implemented provisions of the 1992 Title V Operating Permit rule saying that EPA expanded upon the rule without going through standard rulemaking procedures (Appalachian Power Co v EPA, D.C. Cir. No. 98-1512, decision 4/14/00: 74 DEN AA-1, 4/17/00). This issue arose when EPA released guidance entitled, "Periodic Monitoring Guidance for Title V Operating Permits Programs" in September, 1998. Several electric utility companies had significant concerns about the guidance and filed a petition with the Appeals Court stating that EPA expanded the scope of periodic monitoring in the guidance without going through the proper rulemaking process. The Appeals Court agreed with the utilities. EPA is now proposing to begin formal rulemaking on periodic monitoring.
• The Federal Remediation Technologies Roundtable (FRTR), which is a federal interagency working group that was formed to exchange data on cleanup technologies and remediation methods that are more efficient and cost-effective, has recently added 78 new case studies to its inventory of hazardous waste sites that have been cleaned up by federal agencies. This brings the total of their inventory to 218 case studies. The information from these case studies is contained in a document entitled, "Guide to Documenting and Managing Cost and Performance Information for Remediation Projects." EPA is encouraging facilities that have sites to be cleaned up to read the case studies. The case studies can be viewed on the Internet athttp://www.frtr.gov.
• On June 14, 2000, Ecology held a public hearing to receive comments on its recommendation to designate all areas of Washington as attainment/unclassifiable for the eight-hour ozone standard. A Federal law passed in 1997 requires EPA to designate areas of states as attainment, nonattainment, or unclassifiable for the eight-hour ozone standard. Ecology is considering the attainment/unclassifiable designation for Washington since all areas of the state have either not violated the eight-hour standard or are not monitored. EPA will be evaluating the state's recommendation and plans on publishing the designation in the Federal Register later this year.
• Ecology's hazardous waste quarterly newsletter "Shoptalk" which contains valuable information on new regulatory requirements and other items of interest to businesses in Washington can now be found on the Internet at http://www.wa.gov/ecology/hwtr/shoptalk/index.html.