Hanford Environmental Report - October 13, 2000

	Hanford Environmental Report
Dedicated to Environmental Compliance

Volume 22, Number 10 - October 13, 2000

From Washington D.C.:

EPA RELEASES DRAFT RCRA CLEANUP REFORMS GUIDANCE DOCUMENT

On September 28, 2000, EPA released a RCRA reform guidance document entitled, "Results-Based Approaches to Corrective Action." This guidance provides a framework for project managers and owners/operators of facilities doing RCRA corrective actions to implement a results-based approach to cleanup that is tailored to site-specific conditions. It is also intended to result in more efficient and expeditious corrective action cleanups. The guidance lists several results-based approaches that owners/operators can use to achieve the program goals including:

Tailored Oversight Approach where an oversight plan is developed between the project manager and the owner/operator based on facility-specific conditions;
Holistic Approach where project managers look at the site as a whole and prioritize and address environmental problems based on overall risk rather than looking at individual units;
Procedural Flexibility Approach where project managers and facility owners/operators place their primary focus on environmental results rather than process steps to achieve cleanup;
Performance Standards Approach where the project manager working with the facility owner/operator develops performance standards that provide the requirements the facility must fulfill to complete corrective actions; and
Targeted Data Collection Approach where project managers and facility owners/operators tailor the data gathering strategies to the purpose for which the data will be used.

Comments on the guidance document must be received by EPA on or before November 27, 2000. This guidance is the second in a series of three that EPA is developing for their RCRA Cleanup Reforms effort described in a July 8, 1999, Federal Register publication. In May 2000, EPA released the first guidance document entitled, "Handbook of Groundwater Policies for RCRA Corrective Action," which compiles EPA's groundwater policies into a single handbook. These first two guidance documents can be viewed on the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/correctiveaction.

EPA will soon be releasing the third guidance document entitled, "Corrective Action Completion." For more information, email or call Marsha A_Beery@rl.gov of Fluor Hanford's Olympia Office at (360) 709-0664.

From Olympia:

UPDATE OF ECOLOGY RULEMAKING

Ecology currently has several rulemakings in progress. These include amendments to the:

MTCA Regulation. Ecology published the proposed Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA) rule amendments for the second time in the Washington State Register (WSR) on August 16, 2000. They first published the proposed rule amendments in the WSR in November 1999 but because of a procedural error, they were required to publish them again. At the same time of this second publication, Ecology released the Small Business Administration Economic Impact Statement and a responsiveness summary which addressed some of the more substantive comments they received during the first public comment period. Ecology intends to publish the draft Cost Benefit Analysis before the close of the public comment period and the final Environmental Impact Statement prior to issuance of the final rule. The Concise Explanatory Statement (Responsiveness Summary) on both the November 1999 and August 2000 proposed rule amendments will be issued prior to the adoption of the rule which is now delayed until early 2001. Ecology held public hearings in Seattle and Spokane in September, 2000. A Fluor Handford representative testified at the Seattle hearing on behalf of the Hanford contractors as to their continued concerns with the amended rule. Ecology recently extended the comment period on the proposed rule amendments from September 15, 2000, to October 27, 2000. Barry Vedder with BHI, is coordinating comments for Hanford. For more information, email or call Barry L Vedder at (509) 372-9444.

Dangerous Waste Regulation. Ecology published the final Dangerous Waste Regulation amendments in the WSR on June 7, 2000, and they became effective on June 10, 2000. These amendments incorporated certain federal changes such as recent land disposal restrictions standards, certain provisions of the military munitions rule, portions of the hazardous remediation waste management requirement and post-closure rule, subpart CC air emission standards and certain provisions of the used oil rule. Ecology also made state-only changes such as adding waste lamps as a universal waste, amending the transporter requirements, adding new operational standards for transfer facilities, and removing the exclusion of steel mill flue dust. The Agency is currently preparing the authorization package and will submit it to EPA by the end of the year. Once EPA has gone through the necessary steps to approve the package, Ecology will be authorized to implement the federal provisions of the amended rule.

Toxic Air Pollutant New Source Review. In February 2000, Ecology released a draft New Source Review (NSR) rule, which will consolidate NSR provisions in Chapters 173-400 WAC and 173-460 WAC, establish de minimis emission levels for toxic air pollutants and make other regulatory changes, for stakeholder review and comment. The Agency received numerous comments from stakeholders on the draft and has incorporated those changes as necessary into the draft. Ecology intends to release a second draft for stakeholder review and comment once the proposed rule amendments to Chapter 173-400 WAC, General Regulations for Air Pollution Sources, which will contain certain provisions that need to be incorporated into the new NSR rule, is published in the WSR. Ecology anticipates publishing amendments to Chapter 173-400 WAC in the WSR by the end of December 2000.

Water Quality Triennial Review. Ecology is currently working on the Use-Based Format rulemaking. In this rulemaking, Ecology intends to restructure the surface water quality standards from a classification system to a Use-Based System. In the Use-Based System, Ecology would be assigning water bodies individual beneficial uses independently of each other. Currently, Ecology is preparing the Small Business Economic Impact Statement, which may delay the rulemaking by 4 months. In the meantime, the Agency will be holding a final round of workshops in November 2000 to discuss the changes. They intend to publish the proposed rule amendments in the WSR in March 2001. For more information, email or call Marsha A_Beery@rl.gov of Fluor Hanford's Olympia Office at (360) 709-0664.

Briefly:

On August 21, 2000, DOH and Ecology released the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) on the Commercial Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Site at Hanford operated by U.S. Ecology. The DEIS addresses three pending actions including renewal of the U.S. Ecology site operating license, establishing an annual upper limit for diffuse naturally occurring or accelerator produced radioactive material disposed at the U. S Ecology site; and approval of the U. S. Ecology's July 1996 Site Stabilization and Closure Plan. DOH and Ecology will be holding public hearings on October 23, 2000, in Bellevue at 7:00 p.m. in Ecology's N.W. regional office and on October 24, 2000, in Kennewick at 7:00 p.m. in Ecology's Kennewick office. Comments on the DEIS must be received by DOH on or before November 8, 2000. The DEIS can be viewed on the Internet at http://www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/rp or http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/nwp.

Ecology recently released its draft Strategy to Continually Reduce Persistant, Bioaccumulative, Toxic Chemicals (PBTs) in Washington State (the Strategy) for public review and comment. The Agency held 5 public meetings to discuss the Strategy throughout Washington including Bellingham on September 21, Spokane on September 27, Kennewick on September 28, Vancouver on October 3, and Seattle on October 12. Comments on the Strategy must be received by Ecology on or before October 30, 2000. The Strategy can be viewed on the Internet at http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/eap/pbt/pbtfaq.html.

EPA recently created a website that contains the Hazardous Waste Combustion National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) Toolkit. This toolkit provides information that can be used in implementing the September 30, 1999, hazardous waste combustion rule (64 FR 52828). The Toolkit contains information on: RCRA and the Clean Air Act (CAA) permitting requirements and policies, transition of air emission permitting requirements from the RCRA and CAA programs; delegation of federal requirements to state agencies; federal assistance grants to state agencies; important milestones; sample permit language; universe of affected facilities or sources; and RCRA and CAA regulatory contacts. The Toolkit is primarily designed to assist EPA regions and States on how best to implement the Hazardous Waste Combustion NESHAP regulation. It also provides guidance to the public and the regulated community on how EPA may exercise its discretion in implementing this regulation. The Toolkit can be viewed on the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/combust/toolkit/.

*FEDERAL/STATE*
	*REGISTER REVIEW*

65 FR 53716: On September 5, 2000, EPA published a notice announcing that it was planning to submit an Information Collection Request (ICR) on Prevention of Significant Deterioration and Nonattainment New Source Review to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. This action affects those entities that must submit an application for a permit to construct a new source or to modify an existing source of air pollution, permitting agencies who review the permit applications, and the public who have the opportunity to comment on permitting actions. Comments on this ICR must be received by EPA on or before November 6, 2000.

65 FR 53999: On September 6, 2000, EPA published a notice announcing that it was planning to submit an ICR on Record Keeping and Periodic Reporting of the Production, Import, Recycling, Destruction, Transshipment, and Feedstock Use of Ozone-Depleting Substances. Comments on the ICR must be received by EPA on or before November 6, 2000.

65 FR 54264: On September 7, 2000, EPA published a notice announcing that it was planning to submit an ICR on Toxic Substances Control Act Existing Chemical Test Rules, Consent Orders, Test Rule Exemptions, and Voluntary Test Data Submissions to OMB for review and approval. Comments on the ICR must be received by EPA on or before October 10, 2000.

65 FR 55362: On September 13, 2000, EPA published a proposed rule which establishes analytical methods for fourteen contaminants on the list of contaminants that require monitoring in the proposed revisions to the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulations for public water systems. Comments on the proposed rule must be received by EPA on or before October 13, 2000.

65 FR 55810: On September 14, 2000, EPA published a final rule which amends EPA's procedures for delegating hazardous air pollutant standards and other requirements to State, local agencies, and Indian Tribes under Section 112(l) of the Clean Air Act. This final rule revises EPA's procedures and criteria for approving alternative State, local, and Tribal standards or programs. The final rule becomes effective October 16, 2000.

65 FR 57189: On September 21, 2000, EPA published a notice announcing that the National Center for Environmental Assessment has released a final report entitled, "Workshop Report on Characterizing Ecological Risk as the Watershed Scale (EPA/600/R-99/111, February 2000)." This report reflects discussions by attendees at the workshop on the application of ecological risk assessment to watershed management and decision-making. The document can be viewed on the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/ncea under What's New and Publications menus.

65 FR 57810: On September 26, 2000, EPA published a notice inviting interested parties to assist the Agency in developing and refining the scientific information base for updating the air quality criteria for ozone. The information to be considered for inclusion in the revised criteria document, must have been published, accepted for publication, or have been presented at a public scientific meeting. Information must be submitted to EPA by December 1, 2000.

WSR 00-17-136: On September 6, 2000, Ecology published an expedited adoption of Chapter 173-400 WAC, General Regulations for Air Pollution Sources. The rule corrects typographical errors, clarifies existing language and adopts federal requirements for the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants and Standard of Performance for New Sources. Objections to the rule being adopted using the expedited rulemaking process must be received by Ecology on or before October 24, 2000.

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