[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 103 (Tuesday, May 29, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29132-29133]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-13408]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6984-6]


Voluntary Guide: Waste Transfer Stations: A Manual for Decision-
Making

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice; release of draft document for public comment.

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SUMMARY: EPA, with assistance from the Solid Waste Association of North 
America Focus Group and the National Environmental Justice Advisory 
Council Waste Transfer Station Working Group, has developed a draft 
voluntary guide Waste Transfer Stations: A Manual for Decision-Making 
(EPA 530-D-01-001). The purpose of the Manual is to promote the use of 
best practices in transfer station siting, design, and operation to 
maximize the facilities effectiveness and efficiency, while minimizing 
their impact on the community. The Manual is designed to assist 
facility owners and operators; state, local, and tribal environmental 
managers; and the public evaluate and choose protective practices for 
the siting, design, and operation of municipal solid waste transfer 
stations. Before publishing this report in final form, EPA is inviting 
public comment.
    The Manual is divided into four chapters: Introduction, Planning 
and Siting a Transfer Station, Transfer Station Design and Operation, 
and Facility Oversight. An appendix provides a quick reference guide 
and comparative index of all state transfer station regulations, 
including the applicable regulatory citations. The Manual is designed 
to complement, not supersede, existing state, local, and tribal solid 
waste management programs.
    A companion citizen's guide, Waste Transfer Stations: Involved 
Citizens Make the Difference (EPA530-K-01-003), has also been 
published. This guide is designed to complement the Decision-Making 
Manual by providing key information citizens need to become involved in 
the waste transfer station siting, design, and operation decision-
making processes. It describes ways in which community members can 
become actively involved in minimizing a waste transfer station's 
impact while enhancing its value to the community.
    In recent years the nationwide trend in solid waste disposal has 
been toward the construction of larger, more remote regional landfills. 
Driving this trend are a number of financial considerations which are 
heavily influenced by regulatory and social forces. The passing of the 
federal municipal solid waste landfill criteria in 1991 (Solid Waste 
Disposal Facility Criteria; Final Rule. 56 FR 50978; October 9, 1991) 
established new design requirements for municipal waste landfills that 
significantly add to the construction and operation costs. As older 
landfills near urban centers reach capacity and begin closing, cities 
must decide whether to construct new complaint landfills or to seek 
other disposal options. Many small communities, facing a similar 
decision, find the cost of upgrading existing facilities or 
constructing new landfills to be prohibitively high, and opt to close 
existing facilities. The economies of scale enjoyed by the large remote 
facilities keeps per ton tipping fees low, which further promotes the 
practice of long distance waste transfer. For these reasons, many 
cities and towns are utilizing transfer stations as a component of 
their waste management system.

DATES: Submit comments on or before August 27, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Commentors must send an original and two copies of their 
comments referencing docket number F-2001-WTSN-FFFFF to: RCRA Docket 
Information Center, Office of Solid Waste (5305G), U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Ariel Rios Building, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20460. Hand delivery of comments should be made the RCRA 
Information Center in Arlington, Virginia at the address below. 
Comments may also be submitted electronically through the Internet to: 
[email protected]. Comments in electronic format should also be 
identified by the docket number F-2001-WTSN-FFFFF. All electronic 
comments must be submitted as an ASCII file without 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, Ariel Rios Building, 1200 
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460.
    Public comments and supporting materials are available for viewing 
in the RCRA Information Center (RIC), located at Crystal Gateway I, 
First Floor, 1235 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA 22202. 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 docket at no charge. Additional copies 
cost $0.15 per page. The index and some supporting material are 
available electronically.
    The official record for this section will be kept in paper form. 
Accordingly, EPA will transfer all comments received electronically 
into paper form and place them in the official record, which will also 
include all comments submitted directly in writing.
    EPA responses to comments, whether the comments are written or 
electronic, will be developed during the finalization of the Decision-
Making Manual. EPA will not immediately reply to commentors 
electronically other than to seek clarification of electronic comments 
that may be garbled during the transmission or during conversion to 
paper form, as discussed above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information and copies of 
the Decision-Making Manual, contact the RCRA Hotline at 800-424-9346 or 
TDD 800-553-7672 (heating impaired). In Washington, DC, metropolitan 
area, call 703-412-9810 or TDD 703-412-3323. A limited number of paper 
copies of the Decision-Making Manual are available on a first-come 
first-serve basis. An electronic copy of the Decision-Making Manual in 
PDF file format can be obtained from the EPA Internet site at: 
www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/transfer.
    Questions of a technical or policy nature regarding the Decision-
Making Manual may also be directed to Steve

[[Page 29133]]

Levy at 703-308-7267, or e-mailed to his e-mail address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Copies of the companion citizen's guide, 
Waste Transfer Stations: Involved Citizens Make the Difference (EPA530-
K-01-003), is also available in hardcopy (from the RCRA Hotline) or 
electronically from the internet site mentioned above.

Thea McManus,
Acting Director, Municipal and Industrial Solid Waste Division, Office 
of Solid Waste.
[FR Doc. 01-13408 Filed 5-25-01; 8:45 am]
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