[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 81 (Wednesday, April 28, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 22820-22821]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-10523]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 261

[FRL-6331-9]


Availability of Report to Congress on Fossil Fuel Combustion; 
Request for Comments and Announcement of Public Hearing

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (``we'' or EPA) is today 
making available the Agency's Report to Congress on Fossil Fuel 
Combustion that is required by section 8002(n) of the Resource 
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), 42 U.S.C. 6982(n). The Report to 
Congress contains a detailed study of fossil fuel combustion wastes not 
previously studied (the ``remaining wastes''), including oil, natural 
gas, and certain coal combustion wastes. Its purpose is to determine 
whether the remaining fossil fuel combustion wastes should retain their 
exemption from hazardous waste regulations as provided by section 
3001(b)(3)(A)(i) of RCRA and codified at 40 CFR 261.4(b)(4). This 
exemption is often referred to as the Bevill Exemption. The report 
presents the Agency's study methods, findings and tentative 
recommendations regarding the exemption from hazardous waste regulation 
for the remaining fossil fuel combustion wastes. A brief summary of the 
tentative recommendations appears in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
section below.
    Information submitted in public comments and at a public hearing 
will be used by EPA in conjunction with the Report to Congress to make 
a final determination on the regulatory status of these remaining 
fossil fuel combustion wastes.

DATES: EPA will accept public comments on the Report to Congress until 
June 14, 1999. The Agency will hold a public hearing on the Report to 
Congress on May 21, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Those persons wishing to submit public comments must send an 
original and two copies of their comments referencing EPA docket number 
F-1999-FF2P-FFFFF to: RCRA Docket Information Center (5305W), U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency Headquarters (EPA,HQ), 401 M Street, 
SW., Washington, DC, 20460. Hand deliveries of comments should be made 
to the Arlington, VA address below.
    Comments may also be submitted electronically through the Internet 
to: [email protected]. Comments in electronic format should also 
identify the docket number F-1999-FF2P-FFFFF. All electronic comments 
must be submitted as an ASCII file avoiding the use of special 
characters and any form of encryption. Commenters should not submit 
electronically any confidential business information (CBI). An original 
and two copies of CBI must be submitted under separate cover to: RCRA 
CBI Document Control Officer, Office of Solid Waste (5305W), U.S. EPA, 
401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460.
    Public comments and supporting materials are available for viewing 
in the RCRA Docket Information Center (RIC), located at Crystal Gateway 
I Building, First Floor, 1235 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA. 
The RIC is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding 
federal holidays. To review docket materials, it is recommended that 
the public make an appointment by calling (703) 603-9230. The public 
may copy a maximum of 100 pages from any regulatory docket at no 
charge. Additional copies cost $0.15 per page. The Report to Congress 
is also available electronically. See the Supplemental Information 
section below for information on electronic access.
    Requests to speak at the public hearing should be submitted in 
writing to the Public Hearing Officer--Fossil Fuel Combustion, Office 
of Solid Waste, Industrial & Extractive Wastes Branch (5306W), U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M Street SW, Washington, DC 20460. 
The May 21, 1999 public hearing will be held at the Environmental 
Protection Agency Auditorium, Waterside Mall, 401 M Street, SW, 
Washington, DC. The hearing will begin at 9:30 a.m. with registration 
beginning at 9:00 a.m. The hearing will end at 3 p.m. but may be 
concluded earlier. Oral and written statements may be submitted at the 
public hearing. Persons who wish to make oral presentations must 
restrict them to 15 minutes maximum, and are requested to provide 
written comments for inclusion in the record.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information, contact the 
RCRA Hotline at (800) 424-9346 or TDD (hearing impaired) (800) 553-
7672. In the Washington, DC metropolitan area, call (703) 412-9810 or 
TDD (703) 412-3323. For more detailed information on specific aspects 
of today's action, contact Dennis Ruddy, U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency (5306W), 401 M Street, SW., Washington, DC 20460, at (703) 308-
8430, or e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Customer Service

    In developing the Report to Congress, we tried to address the 
concerns of all our stakeholders. Your comments will help us improve 
this regulatory action. We invite you to provide different views on 
options we propose, new approaches we have not considered, new data, 
how this regulatory action may affect you, or other relevant 
information. We welcome your views on all aspects of this action, but 
we request comments in particular on the items discussed in the Report 
to Congress. Your comments will be most effective if you follow the 
suggestions below:
     Explain your views as clearly as possible and why you feel 
that way.
     Provide solid technical and cost data to support your 
views.
     If you estimate potential costs, explain how you arrived 
at the estimate.
     Tell us which parts you support, as well as those you 
disagree with.
     Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns.
     Offer specific alternatives.
     Refer your comments to specific sections of the report.
     Make sure to submit your comments by the deadline in this 
notice.

[[Page 22821]]

     Be sure to include the name, date, and docket number with 
your comments.
    Copies of the full report, titled Report to Congress: Wastes from 
the Combustion of Fossil Fuels; Volume 2--Methods, Findings, and 
Recommendations (EPA publication number EPA 530-R-99-010), are 
available for inspection and copying at the EPA Headquarters library, 
at the RCRA Docket (RIC) office identified in Addresses above, at all 
EPA Regional Office libraries, and in electronic format at the 
following EPA Web site: http://www.epa.gov/osw/special.htm. Printed 
copies of Volume 2 and the executive summary, titled Report to 
Congress: Wastes from the Combustion of Fossil Fuels; Volume 1--
Executive Summary (EPA publication number EPA 530-S-99-010), can also 
be obtained by calling the RCRA/Superfund Hotline at (800) 424-9346 or 
(703) 412-9810. The Executive Summary is also available in electronic 
format at the EPA Web site identified above.

I. Background

    RCRA section 3001(b)(3) (hereafter referred to as the Bevill 
Exemption) exempts, among other things, fossil fuel combustion wastes 
from regulation under RCRA subtitle C, pending completion of a Report 
to Congress and a subsequent determination of whether such regulation 
is warranted. In RCRA section 8002(n), Congress directed EPA to conduct 
a detailed and comprehensive study based on eight study factors 
(discussed below) and submit a Report to Congress on ``the adverse 
effects on human health and the environment, if any, of the disposal 
and utilization of fossil fuel combustion wastes.'' RCRA section 
3001(b)(3)(C) then requires that EPA determine, within six months of 
the date of submission of the Report to Congress, either to promulgate 
regulations for fossil fuel combustion wastes under subtitle C or 
determine that subtitle C regulation is unwarranted.
    The Bevill Exemption was added to RCRA on October 12, 1980, as part 
of the 1980 Solid Waste Disposal Act Amendments. In response to the 
1980 RCRA amendments, EPA published an interim final amendment to its 
hazardous waste regulations to reflect the provisions of the Bevill 
Exemption (40 CFR 261.4(b)(4)). In 1991, a suit was filed against EPA 
for failure to complete a regulatory determination on fossil fuel 
combustion (FFC) wastes. Gearhart v. Reilly Civil No. 91-2345 (D.D.C.). 
On June 30, 1992, the Agency entered into a Consent Decree which 
established a schedule for EPA to complete the regulatory 
determinations for all fossil fuel combustion (FFC) wastes. FFC wastes 
were divided into two categories: (1) fly ash, bottom ash, boiler slag, 
and flue gas emission control waste from the combustion of coal by 
electric utilities and independent commercial power producers, and (2) 
all remaining wastes subject to RCRA Sections 3001(b)(3)(A)(i) and 
8002(n). On August 9, 1993, EPA published a determination for the first 
category of wastes, concluding that regulation under subtitle C for 
these wastes was not warranted. To make an appropriate determination 
for the second category, or ``remaining wastes,'' EPA decided that 
additional study was necessary. Under the current court-ordered 
deadlines, the Agency was to complete this Report to Congress by March 
31, 1999, and issue a regulatory determination by October 1, 1999.

II. Report to Congress

    EPA has completed its study of the remaining wastes for fossil fuel 
combustion and prepared the Report to Congress on Wastes from the 
Combustion of Fossil Fuels. In keeping with the statutory requirements, 
the report addresses the following factors (hereafter ``study 
factors'') required under section 8002(n) of RCRA:
     The source and volumes of such materials generated per 
year;
     Present disposal practices;
     Potential danger, if any, to human health and the 
environment from the disposal of such materials;
     Documented cases in which danger to human health or the 
environment has been proved;
     Alternatives to current disposal methods;
     The costs of such alternatives;
     The impact of those alternatives on the use of natural 
resources; and
     The current and potential utilization of such materials.
    In addition, RCRA section 8002(n) directs the Agency to review 
other federal and state studies and actions (e.g., regulations) to 
avoid duplication of effort.
    The resulting review and discussion of EPA's analysis is organized 
into seven chapters in Volume 2 of the Report to Congress; Volume 1 is 
an Executive Summary. The first chapter of Volume 2 briefly summarizes 
the purpose and scope of the report, general methods and information 
sources used, and EPA's decision making methodology. The second chapter 
provides an overview of industry sectors that practice fossil fuel 
combustion. The third chapter addresses comanaged wastes at coal-fired 
utilities. The fourth chapter addresses non-utility coal combustion 
wastes. The fifth chapter addresses combustion wastes from the use of 
fluidized bed technology. The sixth chapter addresses wastes from oil 
combustion. The seventh chapter addresses natural gas combustion. Each 
of chapters 3 through 7 addresses the study factors identified above 
followed by a summary of findings, and concludes with recommendations. 
The recommendations are EPA's tentative conclusions regarding exemption 
from RCRA Subtitle C for the respective remaining wastes.
    Briefly, the Agency has tentatively concluded to retain the 
exemption for the disposal of: comanaged and co-burning coal combustion 
wastes at utilities; coal combustion wastes at non-utilities; petroleum 
coke combustion wastes; and for fluidized bed combustion wastes. The 
Agency has also tentatively concluded to retain the exemption for 
natural gas combustors. The Agency has tentatively concluded that, for 
the beneficial use of coal combustion wastes in agricultural 
applications and for the disposal of oil combustion wastes, some form 
of regulation or voluntary controls may be appropriate. The Agency 
currently has insufficient information on managing fossil fuel 
combustion wastes in surface and underground mines in order to assess 
the potential for risks associated with this practice, whether for 
disposal or beneficial uses such as mine reclamation. The Agency is 
seeking additional information on this practice from all potential 
sources, including those commenting on the Report to Congress, in order 
to determine whether additional controls are appropriate.
    Finally, the Agency has tentatively concluded to retain the 
exemption for all other beneficial uses of fossil fuel combustion 
wastes.
    Interested parties should obtain the full text of the tentative 
recommendations, which appears in both Volume 1 and Volume 2 of the 
Report to Congress.

    Dated: March 31, 1999.
Matthew Hale,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Solid Waste.
[FR Doc. 99-10523 Filed 4-27-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P