[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 128 (Wednesday, July 5, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 34938-34940]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-16423]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Parts 63 and 430

[FRL-5253-8]
RIN 2060-AD03 and 2040-AB53


Effluent Limitations Guidelines, Pretreatment Standards, and New 
Source Performance Standards: Pulp, Paper, and Paperboard Category; 
National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Source 
Category: Pulp and Paper Production

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of data availability.

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SUMMARY: On December 17, 1993, EPA proposed standards to reduce the 
discharge of water pollutants and emissions of hazardous air pollutants 
from the pulp, paper, and paperboard industry (58 FR 66078). This 
action announces the availability of additional data and information 
that EPA will consider for the promulgation of effluent limitations 
guidelines and standards and air emission standards for this industry.

DATES: Comments are not solicited at this time. They will be solicited 
at a later date.

ADDRESSES: The data being announced today have been placed in the EPA 
Water Docket at EPA Headquarters at Waterside Mall, room L102, 401 M 
Street SW., Washington, DC 20460, telephone (202) 260-3027. The Docket 
staff requests that interested parties call for an appointment before 
visiting the Docket. A reasonable fee may be charged for copying.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Debra Nicoll, Engineering and 
Analysis Division (4303), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M 
Street SW., Washington, DC 20460, telephone number (202)260-5386.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Overview

    On December 17, 1993 (58 FR 66078), EPA proposed standards to 
reduce the discharge of toxic, conventional, and nonconventional 
pollutants and emissions of hazardous air pollutants from the pulp, 
paper, and paperboard industry. On March 17, 1994 (59 FR 12567), EPA 
published a correction notice to the proposed rules and extended the 
comment period, which closed on April 17, 1994. In the preamble to the 
proposed rules, EPA solicited data on various issues and questions 
related to the proposed effluent standards. The Agency has received new 
information on some of these topics and has added new information to 
the Docket. Today's notice announces the availability of new 
information in the Water Docket for the Pulp, Paper, and Paperboard 
Point Source Category. Subsequent sections of today's notice summarize 
the information that has been added to the Water Docket.
    The Water Docket also houses the public comments that EPA received 
on the proposed rulemaking. To assist reviewers in finding the public 
comments and the materials announced today, a Users Guide for the 
record is available in the Water Docket. The materials announced today 
appear in the record starting at Section 18.
    EPA is still reviewing the data announced today and therefore does 
not publish any analyses in this notice. Accordingly, the Agency is not 
soliciting comment on this notice or the new data at this time. EPA 
will publish its analyses, including any new regulatory options, if 
appropriate, in a subsequent notice. At that time, EPA will establish a 
30-day comment period to solicit comment on the new information and new 
analyses. The Agency's intention in making the additional data 
available in the Docket at this time is to provide the public as much 
time as possible to review the new information. After making more 
progress in reviewing the data, the Agency will then request comment on 
the data and the Agency's findings. EPA received (and welcomed) 
considerable data after the close of the comment period on April 18, 
1994. All comments submitted after that date will be considered as 
though timely filed and are part of the administrative record. There is 
no need for commenters to resubmit data or comments already sent to 
EPA.
    The Agency issued a previous notice of data availability on 
February 22, 1995 (60 FR 9813). In that notice, EPA 

[[Page 34939]]
announced the availability of new data related to the proposed air 
emissions standards; that new data is located in Air Docket A-92-40. 
EPA did not solicit comment on that data in the notice. EPA will seek 
comment on that information in a subsequent notice.

EPA Sampling Activities

    Following the December 1993 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, EPA 
conducted a sampling and analysis program to collect additional data 
characterizing the performance of bleached papergrade kraft and 
papergrade sulfite mills employing advanced pulping and bleaching 
technologies.
    Wastewater samples from bleached kraft mills were collected at 
Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (Samoa, California); Crestbrook Forest 
Industries, Ltd. (Skookumchuck, British Columbia, Canada); Stora 
Billerud AB--Gruvon Mill (Grums, Sweden); and Enocell Oy (Uimaharju, 
Finland). The pulping and bleaching technologies evaluated at these 
kraft mills are: 1) oxygen delignification in conjunction with 
elemental chlorine-free (ECF) bleaching; 2) ECF bleaching in addition 
to both oxygen delignification and extended delignification; and 3) 
totally chlorine-free (TCF) bleaching.
    Wastewater samples for both ECF and TCF bleaching at a papergrade 
sulfite mill were collected at Stracel SA in Strasbourg, France.
    The information relating to these sampling activities that has been 
added to the Docket includes: Pre-sampling site visit reports; Sampling 
and Analysis Plans; Analytical laboratory reports; Data quality review 
memoranda; and Correspondence and telephone contact reports.

AF&PA/NCASI Industry Surveys

    In response to several of the data solicitations described in the 
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, five separate surveys were developed and 
administered by the National Council of the Paper Industry for Air and 
Stream Improvement (NCASI) on behalf of the American Forest & Paper 
Association (AF&PA). Completed surveys were provided to EPA for 
consideration in developing the final regulations. Each survey is 
described below. Except as noted, the survey data are now available in 
the Docket.
    a. Data Request for Secondary Fiber Non-Deink Mills. This data 
request collected information about water use, wastewater treatment, 
and wastewater recycle and reuse at mills that make products from non-
deinked secondary fiber. The survey sought to evaluate the technical 
feasibility of zero discharge (100% wastewater recycle) as a basis for 
new source performance standards by identifying characteristics, if 
any, distinguishing zero discharge mills from mills not currently 
achieving zero discharge.
    NCASI mailed the questionnaires to mills with production comprised 
of a high percentage (at least 80%) of non-deinked secondary fiber and 
several other mills that previously claimed they achieve 100% recycle. 
NCASI forwarded the completed survey forms to EPA. About half of the 
mills responding claimed the survey data as confidential business 
information. Survey forms for the remaining mills are available for 
public review in the Docket.
    b. Recovery Furnace Capacity Survey. The survey objective was to 
compile a detailed inventory of the recovery furnaces operated by the 
industry. Information requested included furnace capacity data, current 
operating rates, and a history of the modifications and capacity 
upgrades which have been made to each recovery furnace. This 
information was collected to help resolve the disparity between AF&PA 
and EPA cost estimates for the proposed rule.
    NCASI distributed the questionnaires to companies with bleached and 
unbleached kraft mills and requested information on the recovery 
furnaces. Survey data for over 100 mills have been provided to EPA. 
Survey data not claimed as confidential business information have been 
placed in the public Docket.
    c. Best Management Practices Questionnaire. NCASI conducted this 
survey to collect general information regarding the existing 
infrastructure (e.g., tanks, curbing) and control systems in place at 
mills for preventing and controlling pulping liquor leaks and spills. 
The survey also requested information about the costs associated with 
implementing spill prevention and control programs. Survey forms were 
sent to a group of bleached, unbleached and dissolving kraft mills; 
dissolving and papergrade sulfite mills; semi-chemical mills; and non-
wood chemical pulp mills.
    d. Capital and Operating Cost Requests. The Capital and Operating 
Cost Request collected engineering cost information for process 
technologies forming the basis of the proposed effluent limitations 
guidelines and standards. NCASI distributed the surveys to several 
mills that recently (1) installed extended delignification, oxygen 
delignification, or pressure screens; (2) upgraded brown stock washers; 
(3) increased chlorine dioxide capacity; or (4) upgraded recovery 
furnace capacity. The objective was to collect cost information that 
could be used to modify, if appropriate, cost curves used by EPA to 
estimate the costs of complying with the proposed regulations or other 
control options. Information not claimed as confidential business 
information are available for review in the Docket.
    e. Operating Data Requests for Recently Installed Pulping and 
Bleaching Technologies. This survey was developed to collect 
information from mills that have made pulping and bleaching process 
changes in the last three years. These data were collected to update 
the status of the process technologies in place at the mills to better 
evaluate industry comments and revise mill-specific compliance cost 
estimates, if appropriate.
    NCASI distributed the questionnaires and provided the results to 
EPA. Information not claimed as confidential business information is 
available for review in the Docket.

Other Data Added to the Docket

    EPA has collected and received other data since proposal in 
addition to that described above. EPA and its contractors have visited 
several mills to further assess controls considered at the time of 
proposal and to collect information to fully evaluate comments and data 
submitted by the industry and other interested parties. EPA has met 
with industry representatives and other interested parties, and has 
participated in several technical conferences since the proposal.
    Many of these activities are documented by materials now included 
in the Docket. These materials include site visit reports, meeting 
reports, correspondence with industry and other interested parties, and 
technical literature.
    EPA is also adding to the Docket data and other information 
characterizing performance, costs, and technical feasibility of 
regulatory control options. For example, EPA has received and added to 
the Docket effluent performance data from several mills that use 
complete chlorine dioxide substitution, which is key to the industry's 
suggested technology basis for papergrade kraft mills. The industry-
suggested alternative was described in the proposal at 58 FR 66078, 
66173 (December 17, 1993), but was not fully analyzed at that time due 
to insufficient data. The Agency is now reviewing the new data and will 
give serious consideration to the industry's 

[[Page 34940]]
alternative as a technology basis for setting limitations and 
standards.
    EPA is also adding to the Docket information that describes changes 
to the computer implementation of the statistical methodology used to 
develop effluent limitations. The Agency plans to modify the computer 
implementation that was used for the proposal. While the statistical 
methodology remains unchanged, the revised computer program provides 
more reliable results in an interim step used to calculate the 
limitations. A memorandum describing the change is available in the 
Docket.

    Dated: June 26, 1995.
Robert Perciasepe,
Assistant Administrator for Water.
[FR Doc. 95-16423 Filed 7-5-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P