U.S. EPA's Solid and Hazardous Waste Listserv
March 13, 2018
The purpose of this listserv is to provide stakeholders with updates about the federal solid and hazardous waste programs. This listserv is used to send out announcements about rulemakings, upcoming webinars, guidance documents, open comment periods and other related communications.
Below are some recent announcements:
Implementation Questions about the Hazardous Waste Generator Improvements Final Rule
EPA updated the hazardous waste generator regulations in a final rule published in the Federal Register on November 28, 2016 (https://www.epa.gov/hwgenerators/final-rule-hazardous-waste-generator-improvements). A collection of the most frequent questions EPA received during implementation of the rule and during trainings about the updated regulations can be found at https://www.epa.gov/hwgenerators/frequent-questions-about-implementing-hazardous-waste-generator-improvements-final-rule.
Increasing Recycling: Adding Aerosol Cans to the Universal Waste Regulations
EPA is proposing to streamline the management of discarded aerosol cans under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act regulations by adding them to the list of universal wastes. This proposal, once finalized, will reduce regulatory costs of a wide variety of establishments generating and managing aerosol cans, including the retail sector, by providing a clear, practical system for handling discarded aerosol cans. Additionally, it is expected to:
Ease regulatory burdens on retail stores and others that discard aerosol cans,
Promote the collection and recycling of aerosol cans, and
Encourage the development of municipal and commercial programs to reduce the quantity of these wastes going to municipal solid waste landfills or combustors.
EPA will be accepting written comments on this proposal through www.regulations.gov under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OLEM-2017-0463 for 60 days after the proposed rule is published in the Federal Register.
Preventing and Detecting Polychlorinated Biphenyl Contamination in Used Oil
The mismanagement of used oil contaminated with PCBs is a recurring issue faced by EPA and states, commercial and municipal used oil collection centers, and recyclers. To minimize contamination of used oil with PCBs and reduce the spread of PCB contamination in used oil, EPA recommends the best management practices (BMPs) outlined in a new fact sheet for commercial and municipal used oil collection centers, and recyclers, as feasible. These BMPs are completely voluntary but are in the best interests towards reducing costly PCB-contaminated used oil incidents. Learn more about this fact sheet and access a copy here: https://www.epa.gov/pcbs/fact-sheet-preventing-and-detecting-pcb-contamination-used-oil.
Printing and Saving Biennial Report Submissions
Several users requested the ability to print or save their Biennial Report submissions. EPA has implemented this functionality per BR Form (Generation and Management, Waste Received, Off-site Identification, SI) level. You may now Save your submission at any point as a PDF.
Proposed Amendments to the National Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) Regulations
On March 1, 2018, EPA Administrator, Scott Pruitt, signed the first of two rules that proposes to amend the April 2015 disposal of coal combustion residuals from electric utilities final rule. EPA is proposing six provisions that would allow states or EPA the ability to incorporate flexibilities into their coal ash permit programs. These flexibilities would also be available to facilities with U.S. EPA-issued CCR permits. Additionally, the proposal:
Clarifies the type and magnitude of non-groundwater releases that would require a facility to comply with some or all of the corrective action procedures set forth in title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) in sections 257.96 through 257.98 in meeting their obligation to clean up the release.
Adds boron to the list of constituents in Appendix IV of 40 CFR part 257 that trigger corrective action.
Determines the requirement for proper height of woody and grassy vegetation for slope protection.
Revises the current regulations to allow the use of CCR in the construction of final cover systems for CCR units closing pursuant to 40 CFR section 257.101 that are closing with waste-in-place.
Adds a new paragraph to 40 CFR section 257.103 to allow facilities to qualify for the alternative closure provisions based on the continued need to manage non-CCR wastestreams in the unit.
EPA will be accepting written comments on this proposal through www.regulations.gov under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OLEM-2017-0286 for 45 days after the proposed rule is published in the Federal Register.
Additionally, EPA will hold a hearing on this proposed rule on April 24, 2018 in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. More information about the hearing will be posted in the docket for this proposal and on the Coal Ash website (www.epa.gov/coalash) in the near future.
