[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 82 (Friday, April 28, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20992-20994]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-10510]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-5199-6]


Notice of Meeting and Request for Comment on Targeted Legislative 
Changes to RCRA

AGENCY: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of meetings/request for comment.

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SUMMARY: As called for in the President's plan for ``Reinventing 
Environmental Regulation'', EPA is seeking to identify a package of 
targeted legislative improvements to the Resource Conservation and 
Recovery Act (RCRA). The Agency will consider the views of all 
stakeholders and communicate the results, findings, and recommendations 
to Congress by July 15, 1995. EPA is providing an opportunity for 
interested individuals to present their ideas and suggestions for 
improving the solid and hazardous waste system under RCRA. This notice 
provides information on the initiative, solicits input from all 
interested individuals, and announces a series of roundtable meetings 
that will be open to the public. A limited number of individuals will 
be invited to sit at the ``roundtable'' to participate in a public, 
facilitated dialogue on various issues. Space will be available for 
other members of the public to observe and comment on the dialogue as 
well.

DATES: EPA will accept public comments until June 15, 1995. Both 
written and electronic comments must be submitted on or before this 
date. Representatives from a cross-section of the regulated community, 
environmental groups, Environmental Justice groups, and states will be 
invited to participate in roundtable discussions. At each such meeting, 
there will be an opportunity for public comment. Roundtable Meetings 
(open to the public) will be held as follows:

May 10, 1995, 9 a.m. until 4 p.m., Lake Michigan Room, EPA Regional 
Office, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois
May 25, 1995, 9 a.m. until 4 p.m., Sheraton Crown Center Hotel, 15700 
J.F.K. Boulevard, Houston, Texas
June 7, 1995, 9 a.m. until 4 p.m., Hyatt Regency Hotel, 2799 Jefferson 
Davis Highway, Arlington, VA 22202

ADDRESSES: Commentors must send an original and two copies of their 
comments referencing docket number F-95-LRRA-FFFFF to: RCRA Information 
Center (5305), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M. Street, 
S.W., Washington, DC 20460.
    Comments also may be submitted electronically by sending electronic 
mail to RCRA-D[email protected]. All electronic comments must be 
submitted as an ASCII file avoiding the use of special characters and 
any form of encryption. Comments will also be accepted on 3.5'' disks 
in WordPerfect in 5.1 file format or ASCII file format. Electronic 
comments must also be identified by docket number F-95-LRRA-FFFFF. 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) should not be submitted through 
electronic mail.
    Public comments and relevant documents are available for viewing in 
the RCRA Information Center (RIC) located in room M2616, at the EPA 
address listed above. The RIC is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday 
through Friday, excluding Federal holidays. To review docket materials, 
the public must make an appointment by calling (202) 260-9327. 
Materials may be copied for $0.15 per page. Charges under $25.00 are 
waived.
    Roundtable meetings will be at the following locations. These 
meetings are open to the public. Call Denise Madigan of JAMS-ENDISPUTE 
at (202) 942-9180 if you wish to attend, as space may be limited.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For accessing information 
electronically, see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION below.
    For further information, contact one of the following individuals 
at EPA in the Office of Solid Waste, RCRA Legislative Reform Team: 
David Hockey at (202) 260-7596, Bob Hall at (202) 260-9355, or Judy 
Kertcher (202) 260-4522.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This Federal Register and other relevant 
materials (meeting summaries, public comments) will be available in 
electronic format on the Internet System through the EPA Public Access 
Server.
    This notice is also available electronically through INDIANnet, 
operated by Americans for Indian Opportunity. For information and 
assistance with using INDIANnet, call 1-605-345-9642.
    Paper copies are also available in the RCRA Docket at the address 
listed in the previous section.
    This document and the background package for this initiative signed 
April 13, 1995 are also available on the EPA's Clean-up Information 
Bulletin Board (CLU-IN). To access CLU-IN with a modem of up to 28,800 
baud, dial (301) 589-8366. First-time users will be asked to input some 
initial registration information. Next, select ``D'' (download) from 
the main menu. Input the file name ``NOTICE.FR'' to download this 
notice and ``RCRA.REF'' to download the initiative announcement and 
background package. Follow the on-line instructions to complete the 
download. More information about the download procedure is located in 
Bulletin 614; to read this bulletin type ``B614'' from the main menu. 
For additional help with these instructions, telephone the CLU-IN help 
line at (301)589-8368.
    The Federal Register notice, minutes of the public meetings, and 
copies of all comments submitted also will be kept in paper form. 
Accordingly, EPA will transfer all comments received electronically 
into printed paper form as they are received, and will place the paper 
copies in the public record which will also include all comments 
submitted directly in writing. The official public record is the paper 
record maintained at the address in Addresses at the beginning of this 
notice.
    Follow these instructions to access information electronically:
    1. Through Gopher: Go to: gopher.epa.gov. From the main menu, 
choose ``EPA Offices and Regions''. Next, choose ``Office of Solid 
Waste and [[Page 20993]] Emergency Response (OSWER)''. Next, choose 
``Office of Solid Waste''. Then choose ``RCRA General/Notice of 
Meetings''.
    2. Through FTP: Go to: ftp.epa.gov Login: Anonymous Password: Your 
Internet Address. Files are located in directories/pub/gopher/OSWRCRA.
    3. MOSAIC: Go to: http://www.epa.gov Choose the EPA Public Access 
Gopher. From the main (Gopher) menu, choose ``EPA Offices and 
Regions''. Next, choose ``Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response 
(OSWER)''. Next, choose ``Office of Solid Waste''. Then, choose ``RCRA 
General/Notice of Meetings''.
    4. Through dial-up access: Dial (919)558-0335. Choose EPA Public 
Access Gopher. From the main (Gopher) menu, choose ``EPA Offices and 
Regions''. Next, choose ``Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response 
(OSWER)''. Next, choose ``Office of Solid Waste''. Then choose ``RCRA 
General/Notice of Meetings''.

Background

    The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act has been an enormously 
effective tool in achieving a dramatic transformation in the way that 
we manage hazardous waste. RCRA has allowed the Agency to develop a 
cradle-to-grave system to ensure the protection of human health and the 
environment when generating, transporting, storing, or disposing of 
hazardous waste. The Agency believes that a successful legislative 
process to make targeted changes to RCRA, could make the statute an 
even more effective tool in safely managing our solid and hazardous 
waste.
    Eleven issue descriptions have been developed by EPA to serve as a 
starting point for discussions to prepare a package of targeted reforms 
to RCRA. Each of these issues, regarding certain statutory requirements 
for managing solid and hazardous waste, has been previously identified 
by one or more stakeholders as an area of concern in which reforms 
would be helpful.
    EPA will consider all comments received in developing the 
legislative proposal. However, due to the expedited timeframe, EPA will 
not prepare formal responses to all comments and suggestions placed in 
the docket.
    We caution the reader not to infer any new EPA policy statements 
from this list of issues. These papers are staff drafts attempting to 
summarize stakeholder concerns. The eleven issues proposed for 
discussion are:

1. RCRA Permits

    For low-risk hazardous waste management facilities (e.g., storage-
only facilities), the requirement to obtain an RCRA permit (and to meet 
associated management requirements) can in some cases lead to high 
administrative costs while resulting in little or no increased 
environmental benefit. Cumbersome permit requirements can also delay 
the transition from less stringent interim status standards to other, 
more appropriate, management standards.

2. Management Requirements

    Once a waste is identified as hazardous, through a listing or by 
exhibiting a characteristic, all of the applicable requirements for the 
generator, transporter, and facility treating, storing, or disposing of 
the waste apply. Thus, the regulatory implications of a decision about 
whether a waste is hazardous are ``all or nothing''; there is currently 
no middle ground. However, it may be possible that for certain wastes 
and scenarios the full hazardous waste management requirements are not 
needed; the application and enforcement of specific, tailored good 
management practices could negate the risk posed for that waste, and 
thus the need for a hazardous waste designation.

3. Listing Determinations

    When determining whether to list a waste as hazardous, the Agency 
considers plausible mismanagement scenarios (e.g., management in an 
unlined surface impoundment) in order to be protective. However, if the 
waste in question is currently or can be managed under enforceable, 
good management practices that protect human health and the 
environment, then mismanagement may no longer be plausible, and full 
RCRA hazardous waste requirements may not be necessary.

4. Prescriptive Requirements

    The RCRA requirements governing certain hazardous wastes can be 
prescriptive and may be impractical to implement in certain situations 
(e.g., radioactive waste mixed with hazardous waste). In addition, 
certain RCRA requirements may be economically unreasonable to 
implement, where they have a major impact on the regulated entity 
without a corresponding environmental benefit (e.g., small businesses 
that do not meet the technical requirements for the small quantity 
generator exemption from most RCRA requirements).

5. Untreated Waste Disposal

    The RCRA requirements preventing the disposal of untreated waste on 
the land unless it can be proven that the waste will not migrate from 
the unit as long as the waste remains hazardous (potentially thousands 
of years), may prevent the safe disposal of low-risk untreated or 
partially treated waste in certain land based units (i.e., deep well 
injection).

6. Indian Tribal Program Approval

    EPA has explicit statutory authority to authorize states to 
implement hazardous and solid waste management programs. RCRA does not 
explicitly mention Indian Tribes in its discussion of authorization 
authorities; this omission has led some to challenge EPA's authority to 
approve qualified Tribal programs.

7. Land Disposal Restrictions

    The land disposal restrictions prevent the disposal of hazardous 
waste on the land until levels of treatment are met which ensure that 
short-term and long-term threats to human health and the environment 
are minimized. For some wastes, this provision could be interpreted to 
require the treatment of the waste's hazardous constituents to levels 
below those which the Agency would consider necessary to protect human 
health and the environment.

8. Treatment Requirements

    The land disposal restrictions require the treatment of waste to 
specified levels or with a specified technology before the waste can be 
dispose on the land. However, under some circumstances, the process of 
treating certain wastes to meet LDR requirements may itself pose a 
greater risk to human health and the environment than land disposal or 
other alternative management practices.

9. Recycling of Hazardous Waste

    Facilities treating or storing a hazardous waste need to obtain a 
permit and comply with all applicable management standards (e.g., land 
disposal restrictions, facility-wide corrective action, financial 
assurance). However, some facilities that recycle hazardous waste may 
not pose significant risks to human health and the environment or may 
need less than full RCRA hazardous waste regulation to ensure safe 
handling of waste. The need to comply with the full panoply of 
hazardous waste requirements may discourage the potential safe 
recycling of hazardous wastes. To better encourage appropriate 
recycling, certain of these wastes may not need to be 
[[Page 20994]] defined and regulated as a solid waste under RCRA.

10. Corrective Action

    Under current RCRA requirements, hazardous wastes from cleanup 
activities (e.g., corrective action and related activities) are subject 
to the same permitting, treatment, disposal and other requirements as 
newly generated and managed hazardous waste. However, many of the 
requirements for as-generated hazardous wastes are inappropriate for 
soil and groundwater contaminated with such wastes, and EPA may lack 
sufficient authority to modify these requirements. The application of 
full RCRA hazardous waste requirements to cleanup wastes may act as a 
disincentive for cleanup, eliminate practical and effective remedies 
from consideration, deter the use of innovative technologies, and 
result in excessively costly cleanups.

11. Hazardous Waste Manifest

    EPA may lack clear statutory authority to provide flexibility to 
the manifest system in order to provide significant reductions in paper 
work burdens.
Principles for Developing the Legislative Proposal:
    In developing the package of targeted legislative reforms for RCRA, 
EPA will be following the principles for reinventing environmental 
protection outlined in the President's plan:
     Protecting public health and the environment is an 
important national goal, and individuals, businesses and government 
must take responsibility for the impact of their actions.
     Regulation must be designed to achieve environmental goals 
in a manner that minimizes costs to individuals, businesses, and other 
levels of government.
     Environmental regulations must be performance-based, 
providing maximum flexibility in the means of achieving our 
environmental goals, but requiring accountability for the results.
     Preventing pollution, not just controlling or cleaning it 
up, is preferred.
     Market incentives should be used to achieve environmental 
goals, whenever appropriate.
     Environmental regulation should be based on the best 
science and economics, subject to expert and public scrutiny, and 
grounded in values Americans share.
     Government regulations must be understandable to those who 
are affected by them.
     Decisionmaking should be collaborative, not adversarial, 
and decisionmakers must inform and involve those who must live with the 
decisions.
     Federal, state, tribal, and local governments must work as 
partners to achieve common environmental goals, with nonfederal 
partners taking the lead when appropriate.
     No citizen should be subjected to unjust or 
disproportionate environmental impacts.

    Dated: April 24, 1995.
Elliott P. Laws,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response.
[FR Doc. 95-10510 Filed 4-27-95; 8:45 am]
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