Hanford Environmental Report

	Hanford Environmental Report
Dedicated to Environmental Compliance

Volume 23, Number 6 - June 8, 2001

From Washington D.C.:

EPA RETAINS THE MIXTURE AND DERIVED-FROM RULES OF THE RESOURCE CONSERVATION AND RECOVERY ACT

On May 16, 2001, EPA published a final rule (66 FR 27266) in the Federal Register retaining and revising the mixture and derived-from rules of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). These rules were previously proposed in a Federal Register (64 FR 63382) published on November 19, 1999. The mixture and derived-from rules define which wastes are considered to be hazardous and, therefore, subject to Subtitle C, RCRA requirements. These rules identify as hazardous those wastes that originate from RCRA hazardous waste listed in 40 CFR Part 261 (referred to as listed wastes). Under the mixture rule, a mixture of a solid waste with one or more listed hazardous wastes is a hazardous waste. Under the derived-from rule, any solid waste generated from the treatment, storage, or disposal of a listed hazardous waste remains regulated as a hazardous waste. In the final rule, EPA has made revisions which:

Exclude all wastes listed solely for a characteristic of ignitability, reactivity, and/or corrosivity including mixtures, derived-from and as generated wastes, from Subtitle C management requirements once they no longer exhibit a characteristic.
Finalizes a conditional exemption for certain low-level mixed waste from the mixture and derived-from rules, provided the mixed waste is handled in accordance with 40 CFR Part 266, Subpart N which was published as a final rule in the Federal Register (66 FR 27218) on May 16, 2001.

The final rule becomes effective August 14, 2001. Wayne Toebe with Fluor Hanford's Compliance Services, has reviewed this final rule and determined that it would not impact Hanford until Ecology amends the Dangerous Waste (DW) Regulations to include them. Currently, Ecology has no plans to amend the DW regulations this year. For more information, email or call Wayne_E_Toebe@rl.gov of Fluor Hanford's Compliance Services at (509) 372-2359.

EPA EXTENDS PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE DRAFT PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT POLICY

On May 1, 2001, EPA published a notice (66 FR 21755) in the Federal Register extending the public comment period from April 27, 2001, to July 31, 2001, on the draft Public Involvement Policy (draft Policy) originally published in the Federal Register (65 FR 82335) on December 28, 2000. EPA is amending the 1981 Public Participation Policy to reflect changes that have occurred over the past 19 years. The purpose of the Draft Policy is to:

Reaffirm EPA's commitment to early and meaningful public involvement;
Ensure that environmental decisions are made with an understanding of the interests and concerns of affected people and entities;
Promote the use of a wide variety of techniques to create early opportunities for public involvement in EPA's decisions; and
Establish clear and effective procedures for conducting public involvement activities in EPA's decision-making processes.

This extension of the public comment period will allow EPA an opportunity to convene an on-line public dialogue on the draft Policy and provide additional time for the public to provide feedback. The dialogue will be held for two weeks in the summer of 2001, and will be announced on EPA's webpage at http://www.epa.gov/stakeholders. The draft Policy can be viewed on the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/stakeholders/policy.htm. Comments on the draft Policy must be received by EPA on or before July 31, 2001. For more information, email or call Marsha A_Beery@rl.gov of Fluor Hanford's Olympia Office at (360) 709-0664.

EPA PUBLISHES PROPOSED RULE AMENDING THE HAZARDOUS WASTE MANIFEST SYSTEM

On May 22, 2001, EPA published a proposed rule (66 FR 28240) in the Federal Register revising the Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest regulation and the manifest form used in tracking hazardous waste from "cradle to grave" or the site of generation to the site of ultimate disposition. EPA is proposing major revisions including:

Standardization of the content and appearance of the current manifest form to make the form available from a greater number of sources;
Procedures for follow-up manifesting of treatment, storage, disposal facilities - rejected RCRA hazardous waste shipment loads and follow-on shipments of non-empty waste containers containing waste residues; and
Providing waste handlers, who are required to use the form, the option of completing, sending, and storing the manifest information electronically.

EPA is proposing these changes to reduce the paperwork burden of the manifest provisions in response to numerous requests to streamline the system. Comments on the proposed rule must be received by EPA on or before August 20, 2001. For more information, email or call Wayne_E_Toebe@rl.gov of Fluor Hanford's Compliance Services at (509) 372-2359.

From Olympia:

ECOLOGY RELEASED THE DRAFT FISCAL YEAR 2002-2003 PERFORMANCE PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT FOR PUBLIC REVIEW AND COMMENT

Ecology recently released the draft Performance Partnership Agreement (PPA) between EPA and Ecology for fiscal years 2002-2003 for public review and comment. The PPA documents contractual commitments between Ecology's Water Quality, Hazardous Waste, and Air Quality Programs and EPA for the period from July 1, 2001, and June 30, 2003. The purpose of the agreement is to:

Establish mutual environmental goals, strategies, activities, and performance measurements for the state;
Maintain a core level of environmental protection in Washington;
Measure environmental progress using indicators that reflect the environmental conditions, trends, and results;
Allocate Ecology and EPA Regions 10 resources to the highest environmental priorities of the state; and
Establish a joint work plan for administering the federal grant dollars that EPA Region 10 provides to Ecology for air quality, water quality, and hazardous waste management.

The agreement can be viewed on the Internet at http://www.ecy.wa.gov/pubs/0104030.pdf. Comments must be received by EPA on or before June 15, 2001. For more information, email or call Marsha A_Beery@rl.gov of Fluor Hanford's Olympia Office at (360) 709-0664.

Briefly:

Ecology has been updating their Stormwater Management Manual and changed the flow control standards from a peak flow rate matching basis to a flow duration matching basis. In order to design flow control and determine compliance with the flow duration standard, a continuous simulation hydrologic model was developed called the Western Washington Continuous Simulation Hydrology (WWCSH) model. Ecology is now offering a one-day training course on the WWCSH model. The training will be held in several locations as follows: June 11, 2001, at the Ecology Headquarters Office in Lacey from 9 am to 5 pm; June 12, 2001, in Longview at the Lower Columbia College from 9 am to 5 pm; and June 19, 2001, in Bellevue at the Bellevue Community College. The deadline for registration is June 1, 2001. Registration for the training can be done on the Internet at http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/stormwater/wwhm_training.html.
EPA has recently opened 10 additional reading rooms for the public where they can view information on the consequences of hypothetical "worst-case" chemical accidents at industrial facilities. One of these new locations is in Seattle at the EPA Region 10 Office. The reading rooms were set up as a result of a final rule (65 FR 48107) issued in August 2000, by EPA and the Department of Justice. For more information on the federal reading rooms, contact EPA at (800) 424-9346.
On May 2, 2001, the National Advisory Committee (NAC) for Acute Exposure Guideline Levels (AEGLs) for Hazardous Substances published a notice announcing that proposed AEGLs and Executive Summaries for 18 chemicals were available for public review and comment. The NAC develops AEGLs on an on-going basis to provide Federal, State, and local agencies with information on short-term exposures to hazardous chemicals. Comments must be received by EPA on or before June 1, 2001.

*FEDERAL/STATE*
	*REGISTER REVIEW*

66 FR 21755: On May 1, 2001, EPA published a notice extending the public comment period from April 27, 2001, to July 31, 2001. on the draft Public Involvement Policy first published in the Federal Register (66 FR 82335) on December 28, 2000 (see article, this edition). Comments on the draft Public Involvement Policy must be received by EPA on or before July 31, 2001.

66 FR 21924: On May 2, 2001, EPA published a notice announcing that it was planning to submit an Information Collection Request (ICR) on Consumer Confidence Reports for Community Water Systems to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. Comments on the ICR must be received by EPA on or before July 2, 2001.

66 FR 21925: On May 2, 2001, EPA published a notice announcing that it was planning to submit an ICR on Public Water System Supervision Primacy Regulations to OMB for review and approval. Comments on the ICR must be received by EPA on or before July 2, 2001.

66 FR 21926: On May 2, 2001, EPA published a notice announcing that it was planning to submit an ICR on the Public Water Systems Supervision Program to OMB for review and approval. Comments on the ICR must be received by EPA on or before July 2, 2001.

66 FR 21928: On May 2, 2001, EPA published a notice announcing that an ICR on New Source Performance Standards for Incinerators, Subpart E, has been forwarded to OMB for review and approval. Comments on the ICR must be received by EPA on or before June 1, 2001.

66 FR 21940: On May 2, 2001, EPA published a notice announcing that the NAC is issuing AEGLs on 18 chemicals for public review and comment (see briefly, this edition). Comments on the AEGLs must be received by EPA on or before June 1, 2001.

66 FR 22225: On May 3, 2001, EPA published a notice announcing that it was planning to submit an ICR on the Underground Injection Control Program to OMB for review and approval. Comments on the ICR must be received by EPA on or before July 2, 2001.

66 FR 22971: On May 7, 2001, EPA published a notice of proposed determination for all categories of Class V injection wells not included in the final rulemaking on Class V motor vehicle waste disposal wells, and large-capacity cesspools (64 FR 68546, December 7, 1999). Comments on the proposed determination must be received by EPA on or before July 6, 2001.

66 FR 24315: On May 14, 2001, EPA published a notice announcing that it was reopening the comment period on the advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) on confidential business information (December 21, 2000, 65 FR 80394) to allow the public additional time to comment. Comments on the ANPR must be received by EPA on or before June 13, 2001.

66 FR 24371: On May 14, 2001, EPA published a notice announcing that it was holding two public workshops, June 6, 2001, and June 13, 2001 on its clearinghouse of air pollution control technology information including Reasonably Available Control Technology, Best Available Control Technology and Lowest Achievable Emission Rate. The workshops will be held in Washington, D.C. and Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, respectively. Further information on the workshops can be found on EPA's Clean Air Technology Center website at http://www.epa.gov/ttn/catc.

66 FR 26795: On May 15, 2001, EPA published a notice announcing that it was withdrawing the direct final rule on Guidelines Establishing Test Procedures for the Analysis of Pollutants Under the Clean Water Act; National Primary Drinking Water Regulations and National Secondary Drinking Water Regulations, Methods Update. EPA is taking this action since it has received adverse comments on the direct final rule. The withdrawal is effective immediately.

66 FR 27008: On May 15, 2001, EPA published a final rule amending the interim approval of State and local operating permit programs. The amendment removes the provision that allows EPA to extend expiration dates of interim approval beyond 2 years from the date the interim approval is originally granted. The final rule amendment becomes effective June 14, 2001.

66 FR 27055: On May 16, 2001, EPA published a proposed rule to find that the Spokane nonattainment area has attained the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for particulate matter 10. Comments on the proposed rule must be received by EPA on or before June 15, 2001.

66 FR 27215: On May 16, 2001, EPA published clarifications and corrections to the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring rule for public water systems published in the Federal Register January 11, 2001. The clarifications and corrections are effective immediately.

66 FR 27218: On May 16, 2001, EPA published a final rule that provides increased flexibility to facilities that manage low-level mixed waste and technologically enhanced naturally occurring and/or accelerator-produced radioactive material containing hazardous waste. The final rule becomes effective November 13, 2001.

66 FR 27266: On May 16, 2001, EPA published a final rule retaining and revising the mixture rule and derived-from rule in RCRA (see article, this edition). The final rule becomes effective August 14, 2001.

66 FR 27646: On May 18, 2001, EPA published a notice announcing that it has forwarded an ICR on 2001 Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act and Risk Management Program Implementation Status Questionnaire for Tribal Emergency Response Commissions and Their Duty Appointed Local Emergency Planning Committee to OMB for review and approval. Comments on the ICR must be received by EPA on or before June 18, 2001.

66 FR 28342: On May 22, 2001, EPA published a final rule delaying the effective date of the arsenic in drinking water rule from May 22, 2001, to February 22, 2002. EPA has previously published a proposal to delay the rule in the Federal Register (66 FR 20580) on April 23, 2001, in order to conduct reviews as described in that register. This action extends the effective date of the rule in that previous register. The current standard of 50 ug/L continues to be the applicable arsenic drinking water standard until the 2006 compliance date.

66 FR 28379: On May 23, 2001, EPA published a notice announcing that it was expanding the list of acceptable substitutes for ozone-depleting substances under the Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) Program. The substitutes are for use in refrigeration and air conditioning systems. The list of acceptable substitutes became effective May 23, 2001.

66 FR 28463: On May 23, 2001, EPA published a notice announcing that it had forwarded an ICR on Investigations into Possible Noncompliance of Stationary Sources with the Accidental Release Prevention Program to OMB for review and approval. Comments on the ICR must be received by EPA on or before June 22, 2001.

WSR 01-10-130: On May 16, 2001, the Department of Health published a proposed rule amending Chapter 246-246-001 WAC the Radiological Criteria for License Termination. The proposed rule is being amended as a result of a settlement agreement between the WDOH and Heart of America Northwest. Comments on the proposed rule must be received by WDOH on or before June 12, 2001.

WSR 01-10-119: On May 16, 2001, Ecology published a list of priority water bodies that the agency has tentatively selected for water cleanup planning in 2002. Ecology is soliciting public comment on these water bodies. Comments must be received by Ecology on or before June 6, 2001.

[Hanford Home Page] [Index List]

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

Privacy & Security Notice